True Names, the operator of the distributed domain-name system Ethereum Name Service (ENS), filed a lawsuit against GoDaddy, Dynadot and the DeFi company Manifold Finance.
The complaint is also filed on behalf of Ethereum developer Nigel Griffith, who is currently imprisoned. The plaintiffs allege that GoDaddy violated the ‘respect, recognition and protection’ agreement for the eth.link domain.
According to the document, True Names sought $75,000 in damages.
On August 25, the domain registrar GoDaddy announced that the eth.link registration would expire on September 5. The company transferred the domain to the Dynadot registry, which sold it at auction.
On September 3, the DeFi company Manifold Finance confirmed the acquisition of eth.link. According to Domain Name Wire, the deal value was $851,919.
“We just acquired eth.link. Services will be restored as soon as ownership transfer is complete,” the firm wrote.
https://t.co/tpR0rT37zf was just sniped by us.
Services to be restored once ownership transfer complete. #Ethereum #ENS
— manifoldfinance.eth (@foldfinance) September 3, 2022
The ENS lead developer under the alias Nick.eth expressed surprise at the sale, saying that the domain’s registration had not yet expired. However Manifold Finance replied that he had used ‘inaccurate information’.
yes it has your looking at the wrong info.
Our DMs are open
— manifoldfinance.eth (@foldfinance) September 4, 2022
In a comment to Decrypt, the developer noted that GoDaddy had promised to return the domain to the public registry with the possibility of restoration.
“We are disappointed with their actions and feel misled because we were told: ‘The domain will be returned to the registry.’ And now we have learned that it was allegedly sold by the provider before we had a chance to reclaim it,” the developer said.
The programmer noted that eth.link is used to connect ENS and DNS. For example, when visiting vitalik.eth.link, a message appears:
“Services on eth.link will be restored as soon as possible in the coming week.”
It also contains links to the Manifold Finance website and Telegram channel.
Earlier in September, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin conducted a poll among his Twitter followers regarding a fair price for ENS domain registration.
Earlier, demand for the service reached record highs.
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