Crosschain Checkout for ENS Name Registration using Rhinestone

TL;DR: ENS has integrated Rhinestone to make the ENSv2 purchase flow feel like a single, unified experience, regardless of where a user’s assets live. With Rhinestone, ENS enables name registration using assets from any EVM chain with just one click, without manual bridging or gas management.

“One of the centerpieces of the new ENS App is a significantly simpler registration flow. Rhinestone’s intent-based framework means that now users won’t need to worry about what chain they are on, or if they have ETH for gas; it’s all handled behind the scenes.”

– Nick Johnson, Founder & Lead Developer at Ethereum Name Service.

A classic conundrum in today’s multichain ecosystem is that user assets are fragmented across chains, creating cumbersome transaction flows that hurt conversion and slow growth. For ENS, this friction is most visible at checkout, where users have historically been required to bridge assets or manage gas before completing a name registration. With ENSv2, ENS set out to make multichain checkout feel like a single, unified experience. To achieve this, ENS integrated Rhinestone to abstract away crosschain complexity at the point of purchase. 

With Rhinestone:

• ENS unlocks a gasless single-click, crosschain purchase flow. One click. No bridges. No gas.
• ENSv2 used Rhinestone to accelerate the development of a unique intent-based registration flow, delivered in just over 3 months (what are intents?).
• Intents enable transactions from any supported chain to execute quickly, averaging 1-2 seconds when purchasing names with stablecoins held on compatible EVM L2s. 

About

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a decentralized naming system on Ethereum that maps human-readable names (e.g., rhinestone.eth) to blockchain addresses, simplifying transactions, wallets, and dApps.

Challenge

Eliminate crosschain friction from the ENSv2 purchase flow

ENS is a household name amongst crypto users and builders. It is supported across all major wallets such as Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow and Uniswap, and has established major partnerships with the likes of GoDaddy, a leading website domain registration service.

With the launch of ENSv2, ENS aims to drastically improve the user purchase experience, aiming to eliminate gas fees and allowing for ENS domain registrations using funds from any EVM chain – no bridging required. 

To solve this problem, ENS identified smart accounts as an ideal method for delivering a single-click checkout experience without compromising self-custody and trustlessness. For this, ENS required a partner with deep expertise in account and chain abstraction that could support:

• Single-signature transactions for complex multichain execution
• Gas abstraction to enable pure stablecoin flows that require no native tokens
• Self-custodial transaction automation to abstract multi-step execution during name registration

ENS chose Rhinestone due to our unique combination of smart account technology and intent-based crosschain execution.

Solution

A full stack account abstraction and intent-based checkout solution

ENS integrated Rhinestone’s intent infrastructure and crosschain liquidity to enable name registrations on ENSv2 using assets from Ethereum L1 or any EMV L2 in a single transaction.

By abstracting away chain, gas, and execution complexity, Rhinestone allows ENS users to complete purchases using assets such as stablecoins held on L2s, without manual bridging, network switching, or holding native tokens on the destination chain.

Seamless user experience that is wallet agnostic

ENSv2 purchase flow is significantly smoother than ENSv1 across all chains.

A key requirement for ENS was supporting connected wallets (EOAs) with a seamless purchase flow. Traditionally, account abstraction benefits are limited to embedded smart wallets that are siloed to the application, requiring the user to deposit before transacting. With Rhinestone, ENS enables an instant multichain, gas-sponsored intent execution for EOAs. 

ENS also went a step further and automated the multi-step registration flow (commit, then register) using session keys, allowing users to complete registration in a single interaction rather than multiple on-chain steps.

Multichain execution speed that feels instant

When a user transacts, they expect instant confirmation, not a prolonged loading screen whilst funds have left their account. Traditionally, users experience the insecurity of not knowing when funds will land on the destination chain. With Rhinestone, crosschain intents execute in near real time, enabling ENS checkout to feel instant regardless of where a user’s assets are held. 

Simple SDK and API toolset

Through a unified TypeScript SDK and API, Rhinestone enables gas subsidisation, session keys for self-custodial transaction automation on ENS, and multi-chain intent execution without building custom infrastructure from scratch. 

By building on Rhinestone’s infrastructure, ENS was able to replace fragmented, chain-specific checkout logic with a single multichain deposit and execution flow, delivering a production-ready experience from initial testing to alpha launch in under three months. 

Why Rhinestone

Delivering a single-click, crosschain appchain experience typically requires stitching together bridges, relayers, smart wallets, and custom automation. This significantly increases operational complexity, security surface area, and engineering overhead.

Rhinestone eliminates these tradeoffs by combining smart accounts, session keys, gas abstraction, and intent-based execution into a single, cohesive system, enabling ENS to: 

• Deliver single-click multichain checkout flow
• Abstract away bridges, gas, and network switching for the user
• Preserve full self-custody and broad wallet compatibility
• Ship a production-ready flow on an aggressive timeline

Results

A meaningful improvement in ENS’s L2 interoperability and UX

This partnership sets a new bar for how users interact with ENS across the Ethereum ecosystem. By removing chain-specific friction at checkout, ENS is able to support users wherever their assets are held, without compromising speed, security, or self-custody.

• Single-click crosschain purchase flows with zero gas fees
• <1.5 seconds average crosschain speed
• One unified experience, regardless of chain

We’re excited to continue supporting ENS and their mission to decentralize the identity layer of the internet.