Frequently Asked Questions

ENS (Ethereum Name Service) domains are human-readable names for Ethereum addresses, like yourname.eth. They work like DNS for Web3 — instead of sharing a long hex address, you can use a simple name for payments, websites, and identity.

The registry currently holds over 2,700 premium ENS namespaces focused on real-world utility — infrastructure, DeFi, validators, AI agents, compliance, and protocol-level names across 15 verticals and 237 segment paths. The live count is displayed on the home page, where every name is browsable by vertical.

Yes, 100%. Every domain is secured in a Ledger hardware wallet on Ethereum L1. Ownership is publicly verifiable on-chain. We don’t list domains we don’t own.

The portfolio focuses on infrastructure and utility terms — the names protocols actually need: orchestrators, executors, validators, ZK provers, identity primitives, compliance registries, settlement infrastructure. These aren’t speculation names. They’re functional namespaces for serious Web3 builders and enterprises.

No — lease only. Parent domains are never sold. Our business model is subdomain leasing: you lease a subdomain under one of our premium parent names at an annual rate. The parent name stays in the registry permanently, giving you long-term infrastructure stability and our 20-year renewal guarantee.

The process is straightforward:

• Browse the full portfolio to find the parent namespace you want.
• Email us at contact@canonicalprotocolregistry.com with the parent domain and your desired subdomain name.
• We confirm availability and provide lease terms.
• Annual lease payment in ETH or stablecoin (USDC).
• Full subdomain control — no wallet connection to our site required.

Annual lease pricing is based on the parent domain’s valuation tier. Base rates range from $100/year to $10,000/year across 20 tiers. Names with transferable rights carry a 1.5× multiplier on the standard rate. Each card in the registry shows the subdomain lease rate. See the full pricing table for the complete breakdown.

No. Lease rates are fixed and consistent for all tenants. Pricing is set by the parent domain’s score tier (1–20) — no exceptions, no negotiations. This protects every tenant from having the rate change on them later.

ETH or stablecoin (USDC). ENSv2 supports stablecoin payments from any EVM chain — no manual bridging required. Annual lease paid directly, no middlemen.

You get full control of a subdomain under one of our premium parent namespaces. Set your own records, use it for wallets, websites, contracts — functionally equivalent to owning a primary ENS name. We retain ownership of the parent domain permanently.

Through the ENS Manager app. We create the subdomain under the parent name and assign control to your wallet address. Everything happens on-chain through official ENS tooling — no wallet connection to our site, fully verifiable. Once set up, you have immediate full control to set records, point to contracts, and use it however you need.

Annual leases. Pay per year, renew as long as you want. Pricing locked at lease initiation — no surprise increases mid-lease. ENSv2’s on-chain roles system enforces the terms in the registry contract, so your subdomain rights are cryptographically guaranteed for the lease period.

The subdomain expires and control returns to the registry. No penalties, no drama. ENSv2 handles clean expiry automatically — when a lease ends the subdomain vanishes from the registry instantly, no zombie records. New tenants start with a completely clean slate.

ENS charges annual renewal fees on parent domains: $5/year for 5+ character domains, $160/year for 4-character, $640/year for 3-character. These go to the ENS DAO. We handle all renewals on our parent domains — you just pay your annual subdomain lease rate. We also offer a 20-year renewal guarantee on any parent domain you lease under.

Yes. Once your subdomain is set up on-chain, you have full immediate control. Set it as your primary name, point it to contracts, use it for payments — functionally equivalent to owning a primary ENS name from day one.

Ontological Sets are curated groups of related domains organized around a common infrastructure theme. For example, the ZK infrastructure set includes zkengine, zkprover, zkverifier, zkvmexecutor, and related names. The registry organizes all names across 15 verticals. See the Ontological Sets page for the full list ranked by total lease value.

Absolutely. Ontological Sets are recommendations, not rigid packages. Want 3 subdomains from one set and 2 from another? Done. Build whatever combination fits your infrastructure needs. Contact us to discuss custom arrangements.

ENSv2 is the upcoming ENS protocol upgrade deploying on Ethereum L1 — not a separate L2. ENS Labs confirmed in February 2026 that ENSv2 stays on Ethereum L1 after gas costs fell 99% in one year, making a dedicated rollup unnecessary.

Key upgrades include a new hierarchical registry system (each .eth name gets its own smart contract registry), a flexible roles system replacing the old fuses model, trustless subdomain leasing with on-chain guarantees, and a universal resolver that works across 60+ chains. Our entire portfolio was architected around ENSv2 from the start.

Yes. We offer manual direct leasing arrangements now for enterprises and protocols that need subdomains immediately. Contact us and we’ll set it up through the current ENS system. When ENSv2 launches, leasing transitions to the fully automated smart contract infrastructure.

• Verify on-chain. All domains are publicly visible and verifiable in our hardware wallet on Ethereum L1.
• Never connect your wallet. Subdomain setup uses standard ENS Manager tooling — no interaction with our site required.
• No upfront payment without agreement. Discuss terms first, pay only when ready.
• On-chain enforcement. ENSv2 roles system encodes your subdomain rights in the registry contract — verifiable by anyone.
• USPTO trademarks filed. Canonical Protocol Registry™ (serial #99766227) and ENSv2 Marketplace™ (serial #99524052).

Subdomain leases under ENSv2 are on-chain smart contract relationships. Once set up, we can’t arbitrarily revoke them — your subdomain control is cryptographically guaranteed for the lease period. Beyond the technical guarantees, our business model depends entirely on long-term lease relationships. A happy tenant who renews every year is far more valuable to us than a one-time arrangement.

Hardware-wallet security. All parent domains are held on a Ledger Nano hardware wallet — private keys never touch an internet-connected device. A remote hack cannot access hardware-wallet-secured names. We also use a dedicated machine, separate email, and separate MetaMask instance specifically for this portfolio, hardened after an early security incident in 2025. If the worst somehow happened during an active lease, your ENSv2 subdomain rights are still encoded in the on-chain registry contract and enforceable independently of our wallet.

Any Ethereum wallet works. MetaMask, Rainbow, Ledger, Trezor — if it holds ETH and supports the ENS protocol (essentially all modern wallets do), it can receive and control an ENS subdomain.