The most widely used domain name protocol in the Ethereum ecosystem, ENS, has officially chosen the Taiko tech stack as the dedicated decentralized naming service ZK Rollup scaling solution, forming the foundation of Namechain.
Namechain will be deployed as a based rollup chain using the Surge framework launched by Nethermind, and Surge itself is built on Taiko technology. This means that one of Ethereum’s most critical infrastructure protocols will directly adopt the architecture first proposed and already running in production by Taiko.
Why is this important?
ENS covers the entire Ethereum ecosystem’s human-readable address system. By choosing a based architecture relying on the Ethereum mainnet sequencer from the outset, it casts a significant vote for what Taiko has been building: based rollups can now run stably in production and will become the next phase of scaling that aligns with Ethereum’s values.
Thanks to Taiko’s technology, ENS does not need to go through an “incremental decentralization” process—Namechain will launch as a fully mainnet-sequenced based rollup from day one.
Let the “data” speak, not just “concepts”
Taiko is not just discussing based sequencing at a theoretical level—it is already live and running. Since its mainnet launch in May 2024:
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Over 50 million transactions processed, with zero downtime
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Sub-second pre-confirmations are running in production, not just written in a whitepaper
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Ethereum validators efficiently and stably execute batch sequencing on Layer 2
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Large-scale performance is achieved while maintaining decentralization
As ENS Labs wrote when deciding to move Namechain to Surge: “We have a rare opportunity to skip unnecessary steps in the ‘incremental decentralization’ path.” They realized they could use Surge to build a based rollup and launch with maximum decentralization from the start. ENS is not just choosing infrastructure that is already running in production, but one that is highly aligned with its core mission.
The real value brought by the Taiko Stack
By building Namechain on Taiko technology through Nethermind’s Surge framework, it will inherit:
Infrastructure level:
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Native Ethereum sequencing, with no centralized operator
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Launches as a Stage 1 rollup, with a clear and credible path to Stage 2
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Battle-tested tech stack at the same level as Taiko mainnet
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Fully open-source, credibly neutral, not controlled by any single company
Technical breakthroughs
ENS needs to provide near-instant name resolution across multiple chains, with strong cryptographic security guarantees. Traditional Layer 2 architectures often force projects to choose between “decentralization” and “performance experience,” but based rollups break this dichotomy.
Namechain will leverage the pre-confirmation technology pioneered on mainnet by Taiko, reducing state updates from “hours” to “seconds” and solving the key performance bottleneck that ENS has faced for years on CCIP-Read. Combined with TEE-supported proof mechanisms and based sequencing, Namechain can deliver institutional-grade performance and stability from day one, all while remaining fully decentralized.
All of this is possible because Taiko is the first team to truly run pre-confirmation technology “on-chain.”
What changes will this bring?
If core protocols like ENS, which have extremely high reliability requirements and are highly aligned with Ethereum’s values, choose to build on this tech stack, then other applications can also adopt it with confidence. Namechain sets a new benchmark for building “without sacrificing decentralization.”
This deployment also proves: based rollups are not just theoretically superior, but a pragmatic choice for teams building critical Ethereum infrastructure in real-world scenarios.
For teams evaluating rollup solutions, Namechain is a direct reference implementation; for the entire ecosystem, it proves that the based rollup narrative is no longer just a vision, but a reality that is already happening and operating.
Next steps
As Namechain moves from internal testing to public testnet (expected in Q2 2026) and mainnet launch, it will validate on a larger scale what Taiko has already proven: scaling Ethereum does not require compromising on decentralization.
In this collaboration:
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Nethermind is responsible for infrastructure operations and the Surge framework;
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Taiko provides based sequencing technology and pre-confirmation protocol;
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ENS brings product vision and deep expertise in naming protocols.
This collaboration demonstrates that it is possible to build mission-critical applications on open-source, open infrastructure, without being locked into a single centralized provider.
