Ethereum's Oldest Crisis Reborn as a $220 Million Security Fund
Unclaimed assets from the 2016 collapse of The DAO, worth about $220 million (75,000 ETH), are being repurposed to launch the DAO Security Fund, a major endowment to strengthen Ethereum’s security. Griff Green, a key original DAO curator, leads the initiative. Most of the recovered funds—sourced from the DAO's ExtraBalance contract and a curator multisig wallet—will be staked to form a permanent security endowment, with staking rewards funding Ethereum security projects. Some funds will remain liquid to handle future claims. Funding allocations will be determined by community-driven, transparent mechanisms including quadratic and retroactive funding, with oversight by independent operators. The board of curators for TheDAO Security Fund includes prominent figures such as Vitalik Buterin, Taylor Monahan, and Alex Van der Sande. The move turns a symbolic failure in Ethereum’s history into ongoing security support for the network, reflecting the lasting impact of the DAO hack, which drove the creation of the blockchain security industry.
