ENSWheel.eth

My take on ENS Domains as an investment. It's about: 1. ROI 2. Fundamentals & risks 3. What to do Let’s start 👇 --------------- ABOUT ME Background: I know most of the OGs here, I've talked to many crypto and non-crypto companies, and many builders in this ecosystem, and I have 150+ sales as a broker. --------------- ROI Investing in ENS domains is like any other investment: it carries risks and potential returns. But it's different in a few ways. It sits at the intersection of two industries (domains and web3), which have very different timeframes: 1. Domains: Traditional domainers know that selling a premium domain can take years. 2. Web3: Memecoins and KOLs warped expectations. Many people now expect 100% returns in a day. Because of that mismatch, a lot of people don't understand why they aren't making big money quickly. That's the problem: you should adjust your mindset and treat this as a long-term game. --------------- FUNDAMENTALS & RISKS Let's start with fundamentals: Ethereum success ENS is the main naming protocol for Ethereum. If you believe Ethereum will succeed, why would ENS domains fail? Major funds and institutions are backing Ethereum, are we really going to use hex addresses as the value layer of the internet? I don't think so. Protocol strength The protocol and integrations are strong; the product itself is solid. Subnames Subnames open many business models (fractionalization, subnames-as-shares, token-gating, growth strategies). Basenames is a strong example (1M revenue and people using subnames in social media and web3 apps). Agents & identity Decentralized agents and autonomous systems will need identities, and names will be essential. But remember: The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. --- Risks & Problems Branding ENS is multichain, but (a) many people don't know that, and (b) the brand is strongly associated with Ethereum (".eth"). Flex / sentiment When sentiment on Ethereum is bearish, sentiment on ENS follows. ENS is effectively leveraged to ETH price; when ETH isn’t doing well, .eth isn’t a good flex. Mainstream adoption We talk about onboarding mainstream users, but first we need to onboard web3 users. Crypto people don’t yet understand why they should use ENS or what the value is. DNS to ENS ENS is a protocol, not merely .eth. It aims to be a naming system for the internet (web2 + web3). If companies start importing .com into ENS, what happens to .eth? (My take: if ENS succeeds, .eth will be the main TLD) Squatters: You're free to register brand names, absolutely, because it's a decentralized protocol. Also, I work with domainers who have companies/brands in their portfolios. But keep in mind that brands aren't so interested in paying for their own names. Yeah, the take could be “but they will need ENS.” But remember what we said: they don't see the value yet, and the world works with trust signals (“if A does it, I'll do it; but if no one does it…”). The problem is: what happens if we can’t onboard them because we ask for 100E for something they don't see the value in yet? So if you have a brand domain, you have that risk (at least in the current situation): they still need to discover ENS, and they won’t do it by paying you 100E. Be reasonable, help them. Not for them if you don’t want to, but for your investment. Also, DNS to ENS helps companies start using ENS with their own trademarked names easily. So we need companies using ENS more than they need their own ENS, because it helps people understand ENS as the naming system of the internet (just imagine if X integrated ENS, cc @nikitabier) --------------- WHAT TO DO Product perception Communicate clearly that ENS is 1. Multichain: make it appealing to Bitcoiners and Solana folks. ENS works for them too. 2. Identity solution: promote ENS as an identity solution. Your avatar, profile, reputation, who you are... and ENS is in that stack. Business use cases ENS enables businesses. But if your idea works without ENS, it may not need ENS. Focus on ideas that are enabled or improved by subnames: a brand could give subnames to any user with specific benefits. Token-gated features work with the address, but ENS helps show that they're ‘loyal users of the brand’ (a growth and revenue strategy). Integrations ENS should be in onboarding flows for every web3 app (teapawt.net/broker_ens/status/1887…) Open protocol mindset Build. Drop the conflict with Labs, they're doing their job and Labs ≠ DAO. If you don’t like something, build an alternative or give constructive feedback. --------------- FINAL TAKE Probable omissions? Maybe, but those are the first points that came to mind. Build, think long-term, and let's make @ensdomains the naming protocol for the internet. MEGA 🫡