The creator of the Ethereum Name Service has filed a lawsuit against GoDaddy for selling the essential eth.link domain name, which hosts the all.eth web addresses utilized by the Ethereum community. The eth.link website’s operator, True Names Ltd., filed a complaint on Monday, accusing GoDaddy of deceiving customers by selling the domain name earlier than it was intended to have returned to the register and become available for purchase.
Thanks to Eth.link, anybody who wanted to access.eth addresses were able to do so. Traditional browsers cannot access.eth sites, however Web3-compatible browsers like MetaMask can. Eth.link made a bridge-like commitment. Domain registration upgradations are normally simple; however, here, the individual with the right to do so, Virgil Griffith, is presently incarcerated for 63 months for teaching North Koreans what to do with cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions (traditional browsers cannot access CoinDesk.eth directly, but they could do so via CoinDesk.eth.link).
On July 26, 2023, the registration was set to expire, but the complaint that was sent to the U.S. GoDaddy falsely asserted that it had done so in August before the District Court for the District of Arizona. GoDaddy sold eth.link to a third party despite stating in the filing that the website address would once again be open for sale on September 5, 2022; the cryptocurrency start-up Manifold Finance, on September 3.
The complainants, True Names and Griffith, are suing accused GoDaddy, Inc., GoDaddy.com LLC, and any workers or companies that actively or passively allowed eth.link to expire and go on sale to the public for damages of at least $75,000, exclusive of attorneys’ fees.
The ENS service is comparable to the internet’s Domain Name System, which enables users to access websites by typing in only a single domain name as opposed to each website’s unique IP address. ENS domains are more censorship-resistant and private than internet DNS domains since they are powered by decentralized smart contracts. As of August 17, ENS had two million domain name registrations.
Currently, a notice from the new owner Manifold Finance states that services will be resumed in the following week on the eth.link landing page. Manifold reportedly paid $851,919.30 for the eth.link, according to Domain Name Wire. GoDaddy opted not to comment on ongoing legal disputes.