Ethereum Name Service Is Launching a Governance Token
The service will form a DAO and use governance tokens for voting rights.
Key Takeaways
- The Ethereum Name Service has announced that it will create governance tokens for its members.
- These tokens will be used with its new DAO, which will have members vote on its treasury and other matters.
- Governance tokens will not have any market value; ENS names themselves are what carry value for users.
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The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has announced that it will launch a governance token and accept delegate applications.
Ethereum Name Service Will Form a DAO
Director of operations Brantly Millegan posted a call for applications today describing the project’s need for a DAO and delegates.
Though he says that the project largely operates itself, there are “a few things that require some human discretion.” There is a need for real people to manage access to funds in the project’s treasury, along with other requirements that will emerge over time.
The governance token will be used to vote on those decisions—either by delegating governance tokens to oneself for voting rights, or by delegating tokens to more active project members.
Applications have already begun. The token claim process will be opened one week from today, on Monday, Nov. 8.
Names Still Carry Main Value
It does not appear that the governance token will have value for end users. Rather, it is the project’s various ENS names that carry value, and which are bought and sold by regular users.
The Ethereum Name Service allows users to tie a human-readable name to their hexadecimal Ethereum address.
Currently, there are 402,000 ENS names, making ENS the largest blockchain name standard. The standard has seen support from big names like Coinbase and even Budweiser.
In 2019, the project turned those names into NFTs, allowing users to trade them on OpenSea and other marketplaces. Those tokens traded 1,617 ETH ($6.9 million) in volume over the past 90 days.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this author held less than $100 of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.
Update: This article initially claimed that the ENS token would not have any market value; however, the asset now has value.
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