ENS Labs has decided to abandon plans for its custom Namechain Layer 2 network and will instead deploy the upcoming ENSv2 upgrade entirely on the Ethereum mainnet. The shift marks a notable change in strategy for one of Ethereum’s most widely used identity protocols.
Ethereum Scaling Reduces Need for App-Specific L2
Development of Namechain began in 2024, when high gas fees made Ethereum mainnet usage costly for many users. Since then, conditions have changed significantly. Ethereum’s gas limit increases from 30 million to 60 million in 2025, combined with protocol upgrades, have reduced ENS registration costs by roughly 99% over the past year.
With transaction costs now far lower, ENS Labs concluded that maintaining its own Layer 2 would add unnecessary complexity. Running an app-specific rollup would require ongoing operational overhead without delivering clear benefits over Ethereum’s base layer.
ENS Labs COO Katherine Wu noted that;
ENSv2 Focuses on Security and Simplicity
ENSv2 introduces major improvements to the Ethereum Name Service, including hierarchical registries that allow .eth name holders to manage subnames and onchain identity features more flexibly. By staying on Ethereum mainnet, ENS Labs aims to anchor the protocol directly to the network’s strongest security and decentralization guarantees.
While Namechain is no longer moving forward, ENS Labs says its experience building the L2 was not wasted. ENSv2 will still support cross-chain functionality, enabling .eth names to be registered and resolved across multiple EVM-compatible networks. The goal is to simplify user experience while maintaining broad interoperability across the Ethereum ecosystem.
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