PayPal, Venmo to Accept ENS’s Human-Readable Blockchain Names

ENS Labs, the main developer firm behind the domain name protocol Ethereum Name Service (ENS), has integrated its solution into the giant payment platforms PayPal and Venmo, the company shared on Tuesday.

The news could signal a renewed interest from traditional payment platforms in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.

According to a press release shared with CoinDesk, users can now use their ENS names when transferring crypto on those platforms, allowing them to reduce the risk of transferring their assets to the wrong crypto addresses. The integration will first be available to users in the U.S.

ENS provides Ethereum users a name, like “xyz.eth,” instead of the long alphanumeric blockchain address associated with their crypto wallets, aiming to make the user experience of sending cryptocurrencies more seamless.

With the integration, PayPal and Venmo users will be able to enter a user’s ENS address when transferring crypto, and both payment platforms will be able to identify the wallet address associated with the ENS name.

“We are excited to bring ENS’ naming capabilities directly into the hands of millions of users, through Venmo, PayPal Mobile, and PayPal Web,” said Khori Whittaker, executive director of ENS Labs, in the press release. “As the world of digital assets becomes more mainstream, our goal is to ensure managing those assets is as intuitive and user-friendly as possible.”