ENS Labs backed off from handing over control of its $350-400 million DAO treasury after strong pushback from community delegates. COO Katherine Wu released a revised plan that keeps the operational wallet firmly under DAO and tokenholder control, while still creating an ENS Foundation for grant management and long-term planning.
The initial proposal, introduced in June, sparked concerns over potential treasury capture by insiders especially given co-founder Nick Johnson’s self-delegation activity. Shifting both the operational wallet and ENS tokens to the Foundation would have centralized power and reduced direct tokenholder governance.
By retaining control within the DAO, ENS tokenholders maintain authority over protocol upgrades and constitutional decisions. The Foundation’s role becomes more specialized, focusing on managing grants and institutionalizing governance without controlling the large treasury itself.
