Blank digital name records moving through a bright registry gateway

ENSv2 Heads to a DAO Vote With Ethereum Name Registrations Set for a Brief Pause

By Isaac • October 13, 2026 7:13 am • Comments

Ethereum Name Service is moving toward the most consequential step yet in its long-planned protocol overhaul: an onchain vote to activate ENSv2.

ENS founder Nick Johnson has submitted an executable draft proposal that would switch on the redesigned naming system on Ethereum mainnet. If the DAO approves it, new registrations on the original registrar will be paused while records are synchronized and the upgraded system comes online.

That pause should last only several hours, according to Cointelegraph. Existing .eth holders would still be able to renew their names, and names already in use would continue working.

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Owners also would not be forced to migrate immediately. Their corresponding names are reserved for them in ENSv2 until they are ready.

The draft still has to become a formal executable proposal and clear a seven-day onchain vote. ENS governance requires at least 1 million votes in participation, majority support and then a minimum two-day timelock before the code can execute.

The proposal also commits ENS Labs to transfer its remaining administrative control over the upgraded contracts to the DAO after activation. No voting date had been announced when the draft appeared.

What ENSv2 actually changes

The upgrade is more than a new front end. ENSv2 introduces a rebuilt registry architecture intended to give owners more flexible control over domains, permissions and subnames.

Once activation is complete, ENS Labs plans to hand its remaining administrative authority over the upgraded contracts to the DAO.

That transfer matters because ENS is meant to be shared naming infrastructure rather than a conventional web company. Moving control of the live contracts to token-governed oversight puts that principle into practice.

The team has also put the new applications through a substantial security process. ENS said 255 researchers spent four weeks testing the ENSv2 app, explorer and related infrastructure, producing 787 reports and 88 distinct findings.


Immunefi, which ran the audit competition, separately confirmed that the review had wrapped and identified the leading researchers. Voters now have a concrete record of what was tested before they decide whether to activate the upgrade.

The DAO still controls the clock

The proposal is not active yet. It must advance from draft to a formal seven-day vote, reach at least 1 million ENS votes in participation and win majority support.

Even then, a minimum two-day timelock stands between approval and execution. No voting date had been announced when the proposal surfaced.

For users, the practical takeaway is simple: current names are not being switched off, and holders do not have to rush into a migration. The only planned interruption is a temporary freeze on new registrations while the two registries are reconciled.

For Ethereum, the larger question is whether ENSv2 can make decentralized names easier to administer without recreating centralized control behind the scenes. The proposal’s final handoff to the DAO is the part to watch.

If the vote passes and execution goes cleanly, ENS will have moved both its technology and its governance into the next phase.

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