As Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains became more popular, the conversation has steered toward .eth domain pricing and what is considered to be a “fair” price to guarantee ownership for 100 years. 

In a Twitter thread, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin asked the community what price they think is appropriate for registering and keeping ownership of a 5-letter .eth domain for 100 years. Buterin gave four options: under $100, $100–$999, $1000–$9999 and $10,000 or more. 

Almost 50% of the 91,130 votes chose the most economical option of paying under $100 for 100-year ownership of an .eth domain. One respondent said that the result is to be expected as people always want the cheapest way to get good returns. On the other hand, another community member argued that costs should be exponential with time. The user believed that $1 million is an appropriate cost for 100 years. 

The costs for traditional domain names vary depending on the name registered. Domain name providers like Namecheap and GoDaddy sell normal .com domains from $1 to $13 annually without any add-ons. After a year, the rates usually go higher as the promotional period comes to an end. However, premium domains can be more costly, ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 and beyond, depending on the domain name chosen. 

The most expensive sale of an ENS domain happened in October 2021 when paradigm.eth was sold for 420 Ether (ETH), worth $1.5 million at the time. The second-largest sale happened in July 2022, when 000.eth was purchased for 300 ETH, around $320,000 at the time of sale. 

The founder and lead developer of ENS, Nick Johnson, recently told Cointelegraph that the team did not realize how valuable ENS would become as more users started to mint .eth domains. Johnson believes that many people register ENS names because it “serves as their decentralized profile.” It gives people a way to identify themselves across various applications and platforms.