What Is Name Wrapper? 

Name Wrapper is a smart contract that allows all registered ENS names to be converted into NFTs, expanding their customizability. 

Creating sub-names has always been possible in ENS and the Name Wrapper builds on this. By allowing sub-names to be made trustless, the owner of the domain name cannot alter the subdomain once it’s been issued. 

When an individual purchases a domain name, the owner becomes the registrant of that domain. This gives them the ability to alter the domain and create sub-names through the contract called the registry. 

A sub-name is an additional name that can be created under a pre-owned registered domain. Names at any level can have sub-names created under them, and the Name Wrapper supports wrapping them and giving control over them to separate owners.

For instance, John Johnson owns a domain name, john.eth, and he wants to create sub-names for his partner Alice. John could create alice.johnson.eth — with its special permissions. 

By wrapping all domains as ERC-1155 tokens, registrants can better customize their registered domains and sub-names to their needs by granting or revoking different permissions. These permissions are known as fuses. 

All wrapped names come with standard and customizable built-in fuses, in which registrants have full access to all the registered domain and sub-name fuses. If registrants would like, they can burn these fuses thereby changing these permissions depending on their goals and needs for the domain name. 

Why Is the Name Wrapper Important? 

Before the creation of the Name Wrapper, registrants could create different sub-names under their registered domains. However, these sub-names had limited functionality and could not be widely used in the Web3 space given that they were not NFTs. 

Following the introduction of the Name Wrapper, all sub-names are now NFTs and can be used on all NFT platforms. This new smart contract unlocks a new level of utility and functionality for .eth decentralized domain names. It is a significant step towards decentralization in the Web3 ecosystem: to have immutable domain names while allowing users to retain ownership over trustless sub-names. 

Now that registered domains, sub-names and Domain Name System (DNS) names can become NFTs, this expands the possibilities of what one can do with .eth NFT domain names.

Extending the list of features, the Name Wrapper provides registrants greater control and personalization that simplifies the domain management process. The first step in utilizing the Name Wrapper is to wrap the sub-names to make them NFTs, giving the domain ownership to this contract as registrants gain control of their fuses. Alternatively, unwrapping a registered domain means burning the ERC-1155 token and regaining control over the original name.

Name Wrapper and Expanded Use Case

The Name Wrapper takes .eth names from simple wallet name identities to tokens with varied purposes. These include building out such token-gated sub-names and renting sub-names for a fixed price. Sub-names can now be used by NFT artists as tokens issued to contributors, as well as by event organizers as tickets and proof of identity. 

Similar is the use of wrapped names for airdrop distribution and community building. Projects can widely distribute multiple sub-names to community members while adjusting the permissions and ownership of the names as needed. 

The Benefits of the Name Wrapper for the Web3 Ecosystem

Decentralized identity is a growing area of Web3 and fundamental to the usability of the ecosystem. As such, being able to build and customize through enhanced smart contracts is necessary to make them as usable as possible. The Name Wrapper is the next step to bringing us closer to realizing a true Web3 digital identity. It can contribute to a seamless onboarding experience that helps to boost the mass adoption of Web3 technologies. 

Author:

Nick Johnson is the Founder and Lead Developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) with over 20 years of software engineering experience. Nick worked at Google for seven years as a software engineer debugging complex code and solving a range of production issues, Taking his Web2 expertise to Web3, Nick was an early adopter as an Ethereum Foundation software engineer from 2016 to 2018. His passion lies in building extensible, long-lasting systems open to all in his community, and ensuring future technology stacks operate as public goods. Nick envisions ENS becoming the naming system for every digital resource globally.