ENS Labs has officially canceled its planned Namechain Layer 2 blockchain project and will instead deploy its upcoming ENSv2 upgrade directly on the Ethereum mainnet. The decision, confirmed by the team on February 6, 2026, was driven by a dramatic reduction in Ethereum's gas fees, which has rendered a separate scaling solution unnecessary for the Ethereum Name Service.
The shift in strategy follows a series of Ethereum upgrades, including the Fusaka hard fork and EIP-4844, which have significantly improved the network's base-layer scalability. According to ENS Labs co-founder and lead developer Nick Johnson, gas fees for ENS registrations have plummeted by over 99% in the past year. This reduction coincided with the network's gas limit being increased from 30 million to 60 million.
"Ethereum is scaling faster than almost anyone predicted a couple of years ago," Johnson stated. "By staying on L1, we're aligning ENS with the strongest possible infrastructure guarantees—Ethereum itself." The technical and operational burden of launching and maintaining a new blockchain was deemed to outweigh the diminishing benefits, as the primary motivation for Namechain—high transaction costs—has largely evaporated.
The move has received endorsement from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who noted that many Layer 2 solutions face challenges with decentralization while Ethereum's base layer is scaling better than previously expected. This reflects a broader strategic recalibration within the ecosystem, where improved L1 performance is reshaping development priorities.
ENSv2, the next-generation protocol for the Ethereum Name Service, will now launch fully on the mainnet. This eliminates the need for users to bridge assets to another network. The upgrade introduces a new architecture for registry systems and user ownership, offering enhanced flexibility. ENS COO Katherine Wu confirmed that ENSv2 will maintain interoperability with major Layer 2s like Optimism and Arbitrum, allowing .eth names to be registered from any EVM-compatible chain for broader access.
While Namechain will not launch, ENS Labs emphasized that the development effort was not wasted. Learnings from the project are being integrated into ENSv2 to improve its interoperability and technical design, aiming for a smoother user experience across multiple chains.
