You need an Ethereum wallet to register or manage an ENS name. Keep USDC in it to register or renew, which covers the network fee (gas) too, and a little ETH for other changes, such as editing records.

A wallet is an app that holds your USDC and ETH and controls what you own on Ethereum, including ENS names. It is how you sign in to the ENS App and approve each change.

Widely used wallets include Ambire.com, MetaMask.io, Rainbow.me and Coinbase Wallet.

Your wallet gives you a recovery phrase when you set it up. Write it down and keep it offline. Nobody from ENS will ever ask you for it, and anyone who does is trying to steal from you.

Three common routes:

Funds on an exchange must reach your own wallet before you can register a name.

ENS names live on Ethereum. In the ENS App or ENS Explorer, you can pay with USDC on Ethereum or on another supported network, such as Arbitrum, Base, Optimism or Polygon. When you register or renew this way, the network fee (gas) comes out of the same USDC, on whichever network you pay from.

To register or renew in the ENS App or ENS Explorer, you need enough USDC for the name's price (see Pricing, fees and multi-year discounts) and for the network fee (gas), which is also paid in USDC. The ENS App shows what you pay before you confirm. For the steps, see Register a .eth name.

Any wallet that supports Ethereum works with ENS. ENS doesn't recommend one over another.

Yes, a little, for anything that changes the name onchain other than renewing: editing records, transferring or upgrading. Renewing, in the ENS App or ENS Explorer, is paid in USDC, and so is its network fee (gas).

Check two things. First, the network: your USDC needs to be on Ethereum or another supported network. Second, the balance: the payment window shows your USDC balance under Select payment; check that it covers the Total, or You pay if part of an earlier payment is still there.