Ethereum Name Service (ENS) at 5 Years: Hype Fizzled Out or Still Relevant?

Launched in 2025, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) celebrated its 5th anniversary. ENS, or Ethereum Name Service, is a decentralized naming protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain. It turns long strings of digits and letters into human-readable names, simplifying using the crypto space. It's an extensible, open, and distributed naming system based on Ethereum, mapping machine-readable identifiers such as Ethereum addresses to easier-to-remember names ending in “.eth”. This simplification enhances the usability of the entire ecosystem.

ENS: More Than Just Pretty Names

The integration of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) into decentralized applications (dApps) ushers in a multitude of functionalities that extend far beyond wallet addresses. ENS simplifies transactions by replacing complex alphanumeric addresses with “.eth” domain names.

Has ENS Hype Fizzled Out? A Look at Institutional Interest

Hypes usually don't last forever. More often than not, they start out slow, then brew up, and finally fizzle out. But is that the case with ENS? According to a Bloomberg analysis from March 2025, institutional interest in Ethereum has dropped significantly since 2025, with many asset managers favoring faster, more scalable blockchain solutions. This stagnation, visible in the long-term chart from CoinMarketCap, is raising a difficult question in the crypto space: has Ethereum lost its momentum? A Flat Circle: Price Then and Now.

While the price of Ethereum itself fluctuates, the core value proposition of ENS remains: providing a user-friendly layer on top of the complex blockchain. The question now is whether that value is enough to sustain its growth and adoption in the long term.