Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has moved closer to launching its ENSv2 upgrade after founder Nick Johnson submitted a governance proposal seeking approval to activate the new naming system on Ethereum mainnet. According to reports from Cointelegraph, Johnson submitted the executable draft proposal on October 11, outlining plans to stop new registrations through the original .eth registrar and transfer future registrations to ENSv2. The proposal remains in draft form, with no confirmed voting date announced.
Under the proposed activation process, ENS would stop allowing new .eth registrations through its original registrar before opening the upgraded system. As reported by Cointelegraph, new registrations for "eth" domains will be temporarily suspended for several hours during the transition process. Johnson explained that the transition requires a final synchronization of existing domain records to preserve ownership when ENSv2 becomes operational. The activation would take place through five stages, beginning with the deployment of new smart contracts and the reservation of existing domain names.
For users who already own .eth domains, Johnson confirmed that the upgrade would not require immediate action. According to the proposal, existing names would continue resolving through the current records, and holders could maintain ownership through the regular renewal process. "If you own a .eth name and do nothing, it keeps working," Johnson stated in the proposal. ENS Labs has reserved existing eligible .eth names in the upgraded registry for their current owners, allowing holders to move their domains into ENSv2 through the official ENS application when they choose, without a fixed migration deadline.
ENSv2 introduces significant improvements to domain management through a redesigned registry system. As reported by Cointelegraph, the new architecture replaces the original registry's flat structure with a system of connected registries, giving domain owners more control over names and subdomains. The upgrade allows individual domains to maintain their own registries for subdomains, with owners able to choose custom registry and resolver implementations while permissions are assigned through specific roles. The system supports more precise access controls without requiring the existing NameWrapper structure for every operation.
Before ENSv2 can launch through the proposed process, Johnson's draft must advance to a formal onchain governance vote. According to the official governance documentation, executable proposals require a quorum of 1% of ENS voting supply, equivalent to one million affirmative votes, and majority approval. Once voting begins, tokenholders have seven days to participate, with execution remaining subject to a two-day timelock. The executable draft includes 15 smart contract calls that would be carried out as one transaction, covering registrar permissions, contract ownership, and resolver configuration. After the upgrade, ENS Labs plans to hand its remaining administrative authority to the DAO.
