Google, the tech giant, has integrated Ethereum Name Service (ENS) data into its search results using data from Etherscan. Brantly Millegan, a former ENS core team member, discovered the update and shared the news on X. Cointelegraph confirmed the feature by testing it with various ENS addresses, including Vitalik.eth, which belongs to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum.
The search results displayed the address details, such as the balance of Ether (ETH) and the time of the latest transaction. This information is collected from Etherscan, the Ethereum block explorer. Ethereum Name Service allows users to use user-friendly wallet addresses on the internet, similar to how domains are used. Instead of complex numbers, users can have an ENS address like yourname.eth, which is easily shareable, much like accessing websites through domains instead of IP addresses.
Google has been increasingly involved in crypto and blockchain technology. In May 2023, it introduced native support for Ethereum wallet balances, allowing users to search for specific public addresses and view wallet balances directly in the search results. This functionality has now been expanded to include ENS domains.
In 2022, Google integrated a crypto feature that enabled tracking of Ether balances for certain Ethereum wallet addresses, eliminating the need to visit Etherscan. This feature was first announced by Han Hua, a principal at Google Ventures, in a post on October 11, 2022. Additionally, Google featured animated pandas in a countdown to the Ethereum Merge event in 2022.
In 2023, Google revised its crypto advertising policy to include “Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts,” which allow investors to trade shares in trusts holding digital assets. As a result, search results now include Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) products from notable asset managers like BlackRock when users search for queries related to “Bitcoin ETF.”
On February 5, ENS announced a partnership with domain registrar GoDaddy, allowing the Web3 community to link their .eth names (domains) to traditional Web2 domains at no extra cost. This partnership eliminates the barrier of high gas fees that previously discouraged users from bringing domain names to ENS. ENS achieved this cost-free transition by deploying new smart contracts for resolution, giving DNS domain holders greater control over their decentralized identities and a new form of self-sovereignty.
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