As the Tezos ecosystem expands into Layer 2 networks, it’s becoming increasingly important that we protect the integrity of our identity layer — namely, the .tez domain. This namespace is more than a convenience; it is a foundational part of the Tezos network’s cohesion, both technically and symbolically.
Recently, a .etherlink domain was launched via a third-party registrar (Freename), seemingly as part of a promotional partnership. The decision appears to have been made without a full understanding of the importance of .tez or the role of Tezos Domains. It’s important to empathize that many of the people coordinating and facilitating partnerships and deals for the Etherlink division do not necessarily come from the Tezos ecosystem — and without that grounding, it’s easy to miss how foundational .tez is to the network.
Without proper context, initiatives like .etherlink domains can be mistaken as harmless or routine promotional moves. But .tez is not just another domain product. It’s the result of years of decentralized development — an identity standard that integrates across wallets, smart contracts, dApps, and infrastructure. It represents an investment of time, trust, and alignment by the community. To sidestep that with a siloed namespace introduces unnecessary confusion and risks undermining the coherence of the entire ecosystem.
The .etherlink domain deal was not intentionally malicious, but it was careless. And if we don’t coordinate now — especially as more developers begin to deploy across Tezos L2s — we risk setting a precedent of fragmentation that weakens the trust and usability of .tez.
We should move quickly to:
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Make it clear that .tez is the canonical domain for the entire Tezos ecosystem — across L1 and all L2s
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Proactively coordinate with L2 teams (e.g. Etherlink, Tezlink, Jstz) to ensure .tez is supported by default in their tooling, documentation, and integrations
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Promote .tez as the network-native identity layer in all user-facing materials
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Engage directly with ecosystem projects and the Tezos accelerator** to ensure .tez is embedded into onboarding flows, branding, and strategic guidance across the ecosystem
For reference, the ENS team has consistently framed .eth as the identity layer across all EVM-compatible L2s while preserving L1 ownership — and that framing has worked precisely because it’s coordinated, technically supported, and culturally reinforced.
We—Tezos Domains—should do no less with .tez.
Let’s set the standard clearly and early — across all layers, there’s one name: .tez.
As a gesture in this regard, I have taken the liberty of forwarding a domain that I own etherlink.domains so to redirect to tezos.domains!
