ENS Approves Restructuring, Shifts $65 Million Endowment and Protocol Revenue Oversight to Foundation
Summary
- ENS said it approved and executed on-chain the 'Next Era of ENS DAO' proposal through a governance vote.
- The foundation will take over the ENS Endowment, a fund of about $65 million built from .eth domain registration fees, along with oversight of protocol revenue.
- ENS DAO will make a one-time transfer of 1 million ENS tokens to the foundation to fund employee compensation, while continuing to manage its existing token holdings equal to about 54.6% of total ENS supply.
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Ethereum Name Service has approved a broader restructuring of its foundation and a revamp of the protocol's operating structure.
ENS said Aug. 11 that it approved and executed on-chain a governance proposal titled "Next Era of ENS DAO." The measure passed with about 70% support.
The overhaul will remake the ENS Foundation into an independent operating organization with a full-time executive director, dedicated staff and a five-member board. It will handle off-chain matters including engagement with external bodies such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, trademark protection and policy making.
ENS Labs will instead focus on core technology development, including next-generation protocol ENSv2.
The foundation will also assume control of the ENS Endowment, a fund of about $65 million built from .eth domain registration fees, as well as oversight of protocol revenue. ENS DAO will make a one-time transfer of 1 million ENS tokens to the foundation to fund employee compensation. The DAO will continue to manage its existing token holdings, which account for about 54.6% of total ENS supply.
Token holders will be able to appoint or remove foundation directors. The inaugural board will include ENS founder Nick Johnson, Executive Director Alexander Urbelis and three independent directors.
The restructuring follows a governance dispute between ENS Labs and ENS DAO in June. At the time, Johnson used his large voting power to block the reappointment of the existing Security Council and push for a shift to a foundation-led operating model, drawing criticism from some community members as a "governance attack."
