Newsletter Roundup (tl;dr)

ENS Labs Update: ENS Stats, ETHDenver Recap, 1% Ethereum State
Community Updates: Integrations, Franklin & QuickNode; unblockcrypto.org
Meta-Governance: $ENS Refund Policy, Financial Report, GovHacks
Ecosystem: ENS Manager App Update, Bug Bounty Initiative
Public Goods: Large Grantee Milestone Presentations

Welcome!

Welcome to the ENS DAO Newsletter:

New editions — published bi-weekly (Tuesday)
Previous editions are archived on the ENS DAO Archive.
New proposals are broadcasted to Telegram.
ENS DAO Dashboard is now available for public review.
Submit feedback — tell us what to feature!

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Calendar

Refer to ENS DAO Calendar for ENS DAO working group calls and other events.

Calendar: Public Access / Access with Gmail

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Recent Proposals

The Term 5 Dashboard, managed by the Meta-Governance Working Group, provides updated summaries of DAO governance and initiatives. Regularly check it for the latest developments.

[EP5.1] [Executable] Upgrade DNSSEC support (Executed)
[EP5.2] [Executable] Commence Streams for Service Providers (Executed)
[EP5.3] [Social] Determine ENS Labs’ next steps in eth.link litigation (Passed)

Note: A minimum of 100k $ENS is required to submit executable proposals. Once a proposal gains momentum, the stewards will prioritize it for a vote during the designated voting window. See our Governance Docs for more information. To view the real-time distribution of voting power among delegates, visit votingpower.xyz.

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ENS Labs Updates

ENS Stats: February 2024

In February 2024, the ENS Protocol registered 38.6k new .eth domains, bringing the total to 2.1 million. The protocol generated revenue of $1.79 million during this period, all of which was allocated to the ENS DAO. The number of Ethereum account holders with at least one ENS name increased by 35k.5, totaling 838k. There were 34.1k primary ENS names set, making the overall count 772k. Additionally, 6.2k new avatar records were created, reaching a cumulative total of 156k.

— source: Dune Analytics

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ETH Denver Recap

At this year’s ETHDenver event, the ENS Labs team, featuring members such as validator.eth, evanmoyer.eth, serenae.eth, sadaf.eth, and 184.eth, was actively engaged in processing ENS card orders for attendees. This real-life activation was complemented by a lively side event at Lady Jane. Here, a diverse group from the community, including ENS Labs team members, stewards, delegates, developers, and everyday users, congregated for an evening filled with engaging discussions, snacks, and drinks.

One of the notable activations was the Crypto General Store, in collaboration with XMTP. At this activation, attendees could place orders by sending a direct message to thegeneralstore.eth using their Coinbase Wallet app, utilizing XMTP’s technology. Another engaging feature was the uni.eth activation near the Uniswap booth. Here, users who activated their free uni.eth username were automatically entered into a raffle.

In addition, Working Group stewards were in attendance, offering exclusive, limited edition POAPs to those who interacted with them. Additionally, a general attendance POAP was available for collection at the ENS social event on February 29th. Overall, the conference was bustling with various activations that significantly contributed to strengthening the bonds within the ecosystem, encompassing stewards, delegates, developers, contributors, and users alike. — 03.01.24

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Keynote: ENS Identity in Your dApps

Luc.eth, Developer Relations at ENS Labs, delivered a talk on ENS and Identity at the Submarine Stage during ETHDenver. In this talk, they provided the audience with an overview of the core issue that the ENS protocol addresses, and also a primer on how developers could integrate ENS into their dApps. Additional topics include TLDs like .com, .xyz, .io, .cash, .finance, .eth, web3 identity, documentation, ENS Cards, and more. You can watch the full presentation here. — 03.02.24

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ENS Supports Magma, a Web3 Accelerator for African Tech Innovators.

ENS announced its support for the web3 accelerator Magma, initiated by Borderless Africa (@borderlessaf). Magma is designed to unify top tech founders and builders from across Africa, with an inaugural cohort of 25 founders and builders from the continent and an additional 10 from around the globe. They have congregated in Kenya to commence a two-week accelerator program focused on developing blockchain and onchain solutions tailored for African users. The program is further supported by notable entities in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors such as Optimism, Celo, Scroll, Polygon, and Base, all contributing to the growing web3 landscape. Magma’s establishment signals a significant stride toward enhancing Africa’s digital infrastructure and empowering its tech entrepreneurs. — 03.04.24

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ENS is 1% of Ethereum State

ENS constitutes 1% of the Ethereum blockchain’s state. This reflects the amount of storage ENS uses for its operations within Ethereum; it signifies that ENS’s smart contracts utilize 2.5 Gibibytes of the Ethereum state’s storage capacity. This fraction provides an insight into the relative size and impact of ENS amidst the vast array of smart contracts and stored data on the Ethereum blockchain. — 03.05.24

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ENS Media Alerts

ENS Radio: Uniswap Announces .eth Usernames — 02.26.24
Buidl Radio: ENS with Makoto Inoue (matoken.eth) — 03.04.24
ENS Radio: ENS Education & ETHDenver Recap — 03.06.24
ENS Radio: XMTP Adoption & Updates — 03.13.24

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Community Updates

Onthis Launches Shortcut Creator Tool

onthis.xyz announced the launch of their Shortcut Creator Tool. The tool allows users to create ENS-named shortcuts without the need for coding skills. This service is beneficial for those looking to leverage ENS to create more user-friendly and efficient blockchain interactions. The tool allows anyone to deploy Bridge + Swap Shortcuts within one minute. To view full features, visit onthis.xyz. — 03.02.24

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Integration: QuickNode

QuickNode, a blockchain development platform, has added support for ENS Names. Users can now utilize ENS names within QuickNode’s UI, enhancing the developer experience for more seamless integration. — 03.05.24

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Integration: Franklin Payroll

Franklin, a modern system designed for payroll, hiring, and management tasks, has announced the addition of ENS name support. Now, users can easily make payments to workers using ENS names. — 03.05.24

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Zerion Spearheads Unblockcrypto.org Initiative for Seamless Wallet-Dapp Integration

Zerion has initiated a campaign (unblockcrypto.org) aimed at fostering easier connections between wallets and dapps. This initiative addresses the challenge posed by blockers which can complicate the seamless interaction between wallets and dapps. The core of this solution is EIP-6963, a standard developed by the community of developers to simplify and control wallet-to-dapp connections.

Developers are encouraged to become part of the solution by minting EIP-6963, reaching out to their preferred dapp and sharing the unblockcrypto.org website to promote widespread adoption. Teams who want their dapps to connect seamlessly with any wallet should review a tutorial provided at main.eip-6963-tutorial.pages.dev. — 03.07.24

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Working Group Bulletin

Term 5 Lead Working Group Stewards + Secretary Appointment

Appointments:

Meta-Governance – @5pence.eth
ENS Ecosystem – @slobo.eth
Public Goods – @vegayp
DAO Secretary - @limes

The responsibilities of the Lead Stewards & Secretary are set out in Rule 9.8 and Rule 9.9 of the Working Group Rules.

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ENS DAO Working Group Schedule (2024):

Meta-Governance @ 1PM UTC Tuesday — Google Meet
Ecosystem @ 4pm UTC Thursday — Google Meet
Public Goods @ 5pm UTC Thursday — Google Meet

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Meta-Governance

The Meta-Governance Working Group provides governance oversight and support for working group operations through DAO tooling and governance initiatives.

Meeting Minutes:

Minutes for Weekly Meta-Governance Meeting — March 5th

Meeting Info:

Tuesdays · 1:00 – 1:45pm UTC
Meeting link

Term 5 Meta-Governance Stewards:

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Unified Policy for Refunding Accidental $ENS Transfers

The Meta-Governance Working Group has taken action to address the issue of users mistakenly sending $ENS tokens to the ENS contract. In a specific initiative, they have processed refunds for 13 recipients who collectively received a total of 589 $ENS tokens. This corrective measure was informed by discussions in the Governance Forum, which provided context for the refunds. Additionally, the ENS DAO outlined a policy for future incidents, stating that refunds for $ENS tokens sent in error to the ENS contract will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Users who find themselves in this situation are advised to contact the the Meta-Governance Working Group or to make a submission on the forum to request a refund.

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February 2024 Financial Report

Highlights from the February 2024 financial report:

Financial Overview:

Revenue > Cash Burn, Runway: 191 months
Proactive financial management resulted in a $20M profit in February, with endowment revenues covering 36% of cash burn
Revenue $2.4M, showing a slight increase from the previous month, Cash Inflow: $1.5M, exceeding cash burn by 2.18 times
Normalized Cash Burn: $0.7M, with Reserves reaching $131M (ETH: $103M, USDC: $28M)
Total Endowment: $90.3M, P&L: $20.5M driven significantly by ETH mark-to-market gains

Review the full report prepared by @Steakhouse here

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Weekly Endowment Update — March 5th

Karpatkey presented their Endowment Update, highlighting that the endowment value has reached $106.2 million. This increase is largely due to a significant appreciation in value, primarily attributed to the rising prices of ETH, which now constitutes 83.3% of the portfolio.

The capital utilization rate of the endowment is at 99.90%, and its Annual Percentage Rate (APR) stands at 4.17%. Karpatkey emphasized the current protocol distribution within the Endowment, noting Compound V2 as the largest allocation at 23.7%. This is followed by allocations in other protocols such as Aave, Maker, and Lido. The ETH distribution within the portfolio is more diversified, including various forms of ETH holdings like stETH, ankrETH, and cETH.

A monthly report is expected soon, highlighting recent strategic moves, such as the swap of rETH for ETHx to gain bonus rewards from Stader. In anticipation of discussions with the DAO regarding rebalancing policy, regular swaps have been mentioned as a part of their strategy. Although there was an aim for a 25% allocation in stablecoins, the current lower proportion suggests a shift in strategy due to the appreciation in ETH’s price.

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Working Group Funding Requests

The ENS DAO Working Groups are preparing to advance their funding request process. These requests, focusing on Meta-Governance and Public Goods, will be posted to the Forum, while the Ecosystem group will not be requesting funds at this time. The funding request will be formatted as a social proposal and put to a DAO-wide vote. This vote is expected to be initiated on March 13th for the individual Working Group funding requests. If approvals are granted following the social vote, the executable for any approved fund transfers will be scheduled to appear on the Agora/Tally platforms on or around March 25th.

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Discussing Governance Hackathons

Klaus Bravenboer, founder of Hack Humanity, a governance hackathon with 11 hackathons to date, shared about their ‘3-day Arbitrum Build Experience’ held at ETHDenver. Here, 70 participants, comprising DAO members and others, focused on governance proposals for the Arbitrum ecosystem. The event featured a final pitch day, attracting 150 attendees and fostering networking and the sharing of ideas. The discussion explored potential engagement strategies with the ENS DAO, focusing on newcomer integration, and collaboration between the ENS and Arbitrum communities.

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Ecosystem

The Ecosystem Working Group strengthens the ENS Protocol by facilitating developer relations, identifying and funding high-potential projects that enhance ENS, and bolstering support for ENS-aligned initiatives overall.

Meeting Minutes:

Minutes for Weekly Ecosystem Meeting — March 7th

Meeting Info:

Thursdays · 4:00 – 5:00pm UTC
Meeting link

Term 5 Ecosystem Stewards:

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Ecosystem Updates — March 7th

Greg Skril, from Developer Relations at ENS Labs, provided an update on a series of upcoming initiatives. The ENS Labs team is preparing to travel to London next week for the ETHGlobal conference and associated hackathon; they are also open to meeting with others in the area for a catch-up. Currently, the team’s efforts are concentrated on preparing for this hackathon. In addition, ENS Labs is sponsoring a conference at the University of Oxford, where members from the Labs team including matoken.eth, nick.eth, esk3nder.eth and more will speak about blockchain technology, ENS, and cryptocurrency.

Moreover, ENS Labs is prioritizing continuous improvements to their technical documentation. They welcome feedback, especially regarding broken links or the need for additional guides. A notable technical advancement is the near completion of a refactor for the ENS manager application, with deployment expected soon. Although this update may not be immediately noticeable to end-users, it will enhance backend performance, resolve existing bugs, and improve the overall developer experience.

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Moving Bug Bounty to Immunifi

The Ecosystem Working Group announced that they are in the process of transitioning their bug bounty program to Immunifi, “Web3’s leading bug bounty platform”. Developers interested in ENS bounties should continue to refer to Ecosystem guidance on the Governance Forum for more information.

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Bountycaster Bounty: Implementing ENSIP-10 and EIP-3668 into go-ens

To incentivize development, the Working Group is offering a reward of 0.5 ETH for the successful implementation of ENSIP-10 and EIP-3668 into go-ens, the Go language implementation of the ENS protocol. Developers who accept this challenge are invited to signal their interest by responding to the relevant GitHub issue or via Farcaster.

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Public Goods

The Public Goods Working Group supports the greater Ethereum ecosystem by identfying and funding open-source development.

Meeting Minutes:

Minutes for Weekly Public Goods Meeting — March 7th

Meeting Info:

Thursdays · 5:00 - 5:45pm UTC
Meeting link

Term 5 Public Goods Stewards:

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FluidKey Presentation

Antonio Seveso introduced FluidKey which enables users to manage and receive funds onchain in a manner that does not publicly link the transactions to their personal identity. When users send funds to a FluidKey ENS address, the funds are relayed to different addresses each time, enhancing privacy.

The presentation outlined future plans for Fluidkey, which include adding more blockchain integrations, enabling swaps, and bridging activities—all through a single ENS address. Antonio Seveso encouraged attendees with questions to reach out via Farcaster, Telegram, or Twitter under the handle @0xmetony.

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RevokeCash Presentation

Rosco Kalis presented RevokeCash, a platform for managing token approvals and mitigating risks associated with granting them, especially from compromised platforms. As a Large Grants recipient, RevokeCash has achieved two milestones: integrating NFT pricing data into its dashboard and enhancing risk information for safer token approval revocations. Future updates will add risk indicators, like token connection duration and past protocol hack records, to refine risk assessments. Kalis encourages contact through his Twitter handle @RoscoKalis for more information or updates.
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Public Goods Highlights Series: Gas Savings with GasHawk

@letfrz (leticiaferraz.eth) recently published an article on GasHawk, a recipient of ENS DAO’s Large Grants. This article is part of a series that spotlights the achievements and future goals of Large Grant awardees, focusing on their contribution to Ethereum and Web3 ecosystems. The series, funded by ENS DAO, aims to support essential public goods in these sectors, and Leticia will keep providing in-depth updates on the grantees’ progress and impact

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Resources

ENS DAO offers several resources for understanding and participating in its ecosystem.

ENS DAO Basics: Details the ENS DAO, including voting and governance.
Support Docs: Provides guidance on registration, renewals, and development aspects.
Governance Docs: Offers additional insights into governance structure.
ENS Agora: Governance hub for proposal review and voting.
Give Feedback: Feedback platform where users share input to improve ENS.
ENS Repository: The ENS Protocol’s main Github Repository.

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Thank you very much for reading! Goodbye. 👋🏻

ENS DAO Newsletter #56