Google Search Results Show Etherscan’s ENS Data

Google has incorporated data from Ethereum Name Service (ENS) into its search results using information from Etherscan. Brantly Millegan, a former ENS core team member, discovered the update and shared it on X. later 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 details about the address, such as the Ether balance and the most recent transaction, which were gathered from Etherscan.

ENS allows the use of user-friendly wallet addresses on the internet, similar to how domains are used for websites. Instead of complex numbers, users can have an ENS address like yourname.eth, which is easier to share. This is comparable to accessing websites by using domains rather than IP addresses. Google has been increasingly involved in the crypto and blockchain space. In May 2023, it introduced support for Ethereum wallet balances, where users could search for a public address and view the balance directly in the search results. This functionality has now been extended to ENS domains.

In 2022, Google integrated a feature that allows tracking of Ether balances for certain Ethereum wallet addresses directly from its search engine, eliminating the need to visit Etherscan. The principal of Google Ventures, Han Hua, publicly announced this feature in a post on October 11. Google promoted the Ethereum Merge event in 2022 by featuring animated pandas moving in sync. Last year, Google revised its crypto advertising policy to include “Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts,” enabling investors to trade shares in trusts holding digital assets, including Bitcoin ETF products.

On February 5, ENS announced a partnership with domain registrar GoDaddy, enabling the Web3 community to link their .eth names to traditional Web2 domains without any additional cost. This partnership eliminates the previously high gas fees associated with bringing domain names to ENS. ENS achieved this by deploying new smart contracts for resolution, allowing DNS domain holders to have greater control over their decentralized identities and achieve a new form of self-sovereignty.