Most people who hoarded 3-digit and 4-digit ENS domains during the hype are now holding bags, reluctant to even pay annual renewal fees.
It Is an Identity, Not an Investment
The real value of ENS is never secondary market flips. It is turning unreadable 0x hex addresses into human language.
Sending funds without verifying the first and last four characters, immune to clipboard hijacker malware, is where the utility actually lives.
Practical Takeaways
- Register for 5 to 10 years upfront: domain fees are predictable, but mainnet gas spikes hurt. Renewing yearly just bleeds fees to validators; locking a long window is far cheaper
- Always set the Primary Name: without reverse resolution, dApps and wallets still show a garbled hex string, rendering the purchase useless
- Don’t overcomplicate site hosting: mapping IPFS static sites to ENS sounds cool, but public gateways load painfully slow. A basic redirect or simple profile page is plenty