With the launch of ENS on Linea last month, new frontiers are opening up for the ecosystem. Linea Name Service, a fork of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), allows users to register and manage subdomains for a fraction of the L1 gas price, working towards our goal of a user-friendly Ethereum. These subnames are fully compatible with ENS and can be used on any dapp or chain that supports ENS, with 350K registrations to date.

However, the applications don't stop there. The Linea ENS repository that was created to bring ENS to Linea has component libraries that can be applied in other contexts. The functionality of these associated components enables any L1 application to query L2 data using CCIP Read (ERC-3668), equipping developers for cross-chain retrieval and opening up up a range of use cases which we explored here.

As of today, Efrogs, an OG PFP collection and community on Linea, is putting this potential into action. Marking the first time a builder on Linea integrates with CCIP Read, the new feature for Efrogs automatically provides Efrogs NFT holders with personalized ENS subdomains, such as 1.efrogs.eth. This feature is achieved by deploying a custom resolver, which directly verifies NFT ownership on the Linea blockchain, in a seamless experience that is automated for Efrogs NFT holders.

“At Efrogs we always look forward to experimenting with innovative things ahead of everyone else, that's how we are able to provide value and incentives to our community members. We really think ENS is a great technology as it provides a variety of functionalities which web2 lacks,” says Shama, Founder and Chief Frog Officer at Efrogs.

The rollout includes two novel mechanisms: an ENS attached to its respective NFT, and the attachment of an NFT so that a holder’s PFP is also associated with their onchain subname. This means if a holder sells their NFT, the associated ENS subname is also transferred.

Subdomains will be issued to Efrogs holders for free. “By assigning subdomains to Efrogs holders we are basically naming their wallets, which is human-readable instead of the long hex address, so they can easily use their subdomain to send and receive payments and transfer NFTs,” explains Pran, Community Manager at Efrogs. Community members can begin to display their subdomain as their profile name on social platforms to show and have a sense of belonging to the culture.

These developments are part of a wider ecosystem push that aims to improve cross-chain transaction and standardization, with CCIP Read (ERC-3668) and ERC-7683 as the bedrock. “At Linea, we continue to explore and deliver innovative solutions that move the entire crypto industry forward. This feature provides builders another tool in the toolbox to deliver more meaningful user experiences to their communities, and I believe we're only scratching the surface on what these primitives will unlock for cross-chain interoperability,” says Declan Fox, product lead at Linea.

Impact on the Ecosystem

NFT projects are constantly looking for new innovation to create a stronger experience for their collectors and community. In delivering functionality for partner subnames, Linea is creating new primitive ways for these projects to provide better user experiences for their communities, with benefits for projects and users alike.

User benefits:

• Automated Subdomain Assignment: The solution is highly user-friendly as it automates subdomain assignment based on NFT ownership. e.g., if a user owns eFrog #1064, they automatically own 1064.efrogs.eth. NFT owners don't need to take any additional steps to acquire or manage their subdomains.

• Human-Readable Addresses: A more human-readable address allows for faster payments.

• Community and Identity Integration: Individuals often collect NFTs because they align with a project's values or want to join its unique community. With a project-specific subname, users can tie their membership to their web3 identity serving as a status symbol and enhancing a sense of belonging.

NFT project benefits:

• User Retention: Enhanced user experience incentivizes user retention.

• Simpler Distribution of Benefits: The new feature enables a more streamlined process to distribute benefits and perks to collection holders.

• Automated Subname Distribution: Users have no additional action points to claim their subname. Simple ownership of an Efrogs NFT grants them ownership of their NFT's token ID allocated domain.

Technical advantages:

• Simplified Architecture: By utilizing a custom L1 resolver, the solution avoids the complexity of multi-step resolution and provides a streamlined process for subdomain management.

• Direct Ownership Validation: The resolver directly queries the smart contract on Linea, ensuring that the subdomain always reflects the accurate and up-to-date ownership of eFrogs NFTs.

• Efficiency and Scalability: This approach reduces potential bottlenecks and ensures that the system can scale effectively as the number of queries or NFTs increases.

How the Custom L1 Resolver for Efrogs.eth Works

To make this new feature possible, Linea is setting up a custom ENS resolver on Layer 1 for the Efrogs.eth domain. This resolver is configured to directly query the ownership of Efrogs NFTs on the Linea blockchain. By doing so, we eliminate the need for a complex multi-step resolution process and ensure efficient, accurate subdomain management. This approach leverages the robustness of Ethereum mainnet (L1) while maintaining the integrity of ownership data hosted on the Linea L2 blockchain.

The process works as follows. When a user queries an ENS subdomain, such as 1.efrogs.eth, the process begins with the user sending a query to the ENS resolver on L1. The ENS resolver then interacts with the Linea blockchain to verify the ownership of the corresponding eFrog NFT. Linea fetches the current ownership data by interacting with the Efrogs NFT contract. This ownership data, which includes the wallet address of the current NFT owner, is returned from the Efrogs NFT contract to Linea, and subsequently from Linea to the ENS resolver on L1. Finally, the ENS resolver on L1 returns the wallet address of the NFT owner to the user, completing the query.

Builders can now create their own subnames on Linea using our CCIP Read integration – learn more here.