Why Doesn't Gem Wallet Resolve Emoji or Unicode ENS Names?
The Short Answer
When you send crypto in Gem Wallet, you can type an ENS name such as alice.eth instead of a 0x... address. Gem Wallet looks up the address the name points to.
Starting with Gem Wallet 2.114.71, ENS names that contain emoji, accented letters, or non-Latin characters, such as 🐈.eth or café.eth, are no longer resolved. Gem Wallet treats them as not found. Plain names made of the letters a to z, numbers, and hyphens work as before.
Why Gem Wallet Made This Change
ENS stores each name's records under its normalized Unicode form. Gem Wallet's resolver used to look these names up by their punycode form instead. Punycode is the ASCII spelling of a Unicode name, such as xn--zn8h.eth for 🐈.eth.
The punycode spelling is a different ENS name that anyone can register. So a lookup of 🐈.eth could return the address of whoever owned xn--zn8h.eth, and your funds could go to a stranger.
To make sure a name can never send funds to the wrong owner, Gem Wallet now refuses ENS names that need punycode.
How to Send to an Emoji or Unicode ENS Name
- Ask for the address. Ask the recipient for their
0x...address and paste it into the recipient field. - Check the name on the ENS website. Look up the name at app.ens.domains, copy the address it shows, and confirm it with the recipient before you send.
- Save the recipient as a contact. After you've confirmed the address, save it in Contacts so you don't have to look it up again.
Always compare the first and last characters of the address with what the recipient gave you. See What Is an Address-Poisoning Scam?.
Does This Affect My Own ENS Name?
Only if your name contains emoji, accented letters, or non-Latin characters. Senders using Gem Wallet won't be able to send to that name, so share your 0x... address with them instead. Names made of a to z, numbers, and hyphens aren't affected.