ENS Labs has announced that it is canceling Namechain, the Layer 2 network previously planned as part of the ENSv2 upgrade, and will instead deploy ENSv2 directly on the Ethereum mainnet. The move marks a major strategic shift for the Ethereum Name Service, signaling that its next phase will rely on the base layer rather than a dedicated secondary chain.
Why ENS Labs Changed Course
According to the source material, the decision reflects growing confidence in Ethereum’s scaling progress. In particular, EIP-4844 has helped reduce gas fees significantly and improved the efficiency of the mainnet, making a separate Layer 2 less compelling for ENS than it may have been earlier.
By staying on the mainnet, ENS Labs also avoids the additional complexity involved in launching and operating its own Layer 2 environment. Running a separate chain can introduce new technical overhead, operational burden, and security considerations. ENS Labs appears to view Ethereum mainnet as sufficiently capable to support ENSv2 without adding those extra layers of risk.
Security and Decentralization Take Priority
The announcement highlights the value of Ethereum’s established security and decentralization. Rather than splitting critical naming infrastructure across another execution environment, ENS Labs is choosing to keep its core system where validator security, network effects, and decentralization are strongest.
This approach also aligns with recent comments from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who has emphasized that core infrastructure should remain on the mainnet whenever possible in order to preserve stronger security and decentralization guarantees. In that context, ENS Labs’ decision looks less like a retreat and more like a practical response to Ethereum’s changing technical landscape.
What It Means for ENS
ENS has long been positioned as a foundational Web3 identity layer. Canceling Namechain and focusing ENSv2 on the mainnet suggests the team prefers architectural simplicity and stronger trust assumptions over maintaining a dedicated scaling stack. For users and ecosystem participants, that could translate into a more straightforward roadmap and a tighter alignment with Ethereum itself.
More broadly, the move reflects an important trend across the ecosystem: as Ethereum scaling improves, some projects may decide that building a custom Layer 2 is no longer the most efficient path. For ENS, deploying ENSv2 on mainnet reinforces its role as a secure and accessible Web3 identity solution built directly on Ethereum’s core infrastructure.