TL;DR:
- ENS Labs and GLEIF are exploring linking ENS names with verifiable legal entity identifiers (vLEI) to authenticate institutions onchain.
- The proposal includes an ENS Improvement Proposal (ENSIP) that would standardize the connection between onchain names and corporate legal identity.
- Both organizations will participate in Sibos 2026 to advance the implementation of this institutional identity infrastructure.
ENS Labs and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) announced that they are exploring an integration that would allow ENS names to be linked with verifiable legal entity identifiers, known as vLEI, so that applications and counterparties can confirm the identity of the organization behind an onchain name.
The ENS Labs project is currently in development stage and aims to resolve one of the most pressing questions raised by institutional adoption of blockchain infrastructure: is the counterparty really who they claim to be?
The LEI —Legal Entity Identifier— is a globally standardized unique code that identifies a legal entity independently of the account or financial infrastructure it uses. Its verifiable version, the vLEI, extends that capability to the digital ecosystem, allowing organizational identity to be confirmed in a computational manner, including the authority of individuals acting on behalf of an organization.
ENS Labs: Verifiable Institutional Identity Layer
An ENS name can point to addresses and information used by wallets and applications across multiple networks, functioning as a persistent reference for an organization. By linking that name to a vLEI, counterparties obtain a mechanism to independently verify the organizational identity behind it.
The next technical step involves formalizing an ENS Improvement Proposal, or ENSIP, which would define the implementation standard for the ENS ecosystem. These public technical documents establish common specifications so that different integrations operate under the same logic, preventing each project from defining its own approach. The governance and verification of vLEI credentials would remain within GLEIF’s framework.
The practical applications of this scheme encompass counterparty risk management, asset tokenization —where each issuance requires a clear link to the responsible entity— and the authenticity of onchain accounts, where today anyone can deploy a contract and claim to represent an organization with no real possibility of verification.
ENS Labs and GLEIF will continue refining the specifications alongside interested institutions and will participate in Sibos 2026 to advance the conversation on how to integrate organizations into the onchain world in a verifiable and trustworthy manner.
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