Delegate, LayerZero to launch naming protocol ‘Clusters’ on Ethereum, Solana and other chains

Ethereum infrastructure project Delegate today launches a blockchain-based naming protocol called Clusters in partnership with interoperability platform LayerZero.

Domain name services map complex blockchain addresses to human-readable names. The Ethereum Name Service is the best-known example. Although ENS allows the registration of addresses from other blockchains – using an integration with oracle provider Chainlink – the data remains stored on Ethereum as a single point of truth.

Delegate’s alternative aims to bring this kind of registry natively to multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, other EVM-based chains and later Bitcoin, according to a message on X.

“Clusters is a cross-chain, multi-wallet naming protocol that addresses issues such as address fragmentation, wallet management complexity, and domain cracking,” LayerZero said in a Mediocre post. “It serves as a unified identity layer, allowing users to maintain a consistent identity across multiple chains – similar to what ENS does, but across many chains.”

In the post, LayerZero claimed that this service will streamline user interactions with decentralized applications and protocols across multiple blockchains.

How will clusters work?

LayerZero will be the core technology behind the service. The protocol is designed to allow messages to flow between blockchains, which can be used for sharing value (such as tokens) or simply information. “On the backend, LayerZero is used as a messaging layer to move actions and state changes across chains to help Clusters maintain accuracy across millions of names and billions of wallet addresses,” the post said.

Delegate was previously called Delegate Cash and already has experience in managing blockchain addresses. The main protocol is used for crypto wallet holders to delegate rights or responsibilities from their wallet to another wallet. For example, a Bored Ape owner can delegate ownership of that NFT to an empty wallet he controls and use the empty wallet to log into the Bored Ape Discord server. If that wallet is compromised, their NFT remains safe.

According to the website, Delegate’s technology is used for security $993 million in assets spread over 182,500 wallets. While the service only works for projects that integrate with Delegate, many top NFT projects have done so as well, including Yuga Labs – the owner of CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club – and Azuki and NFT marketplace OpenSea.