Key Insights
- Ethereum has launched TheDAO security fund with over 75,000 ETH committed.
- The funds being used are unclaimed and recovered funds from the 2016 TheDAO hack.
- Ethereum stakeholders to play key role in the fund as TheDAO fund plans to stake almost 70,000 ETH
Ethereum has launched TheDAO security fund with over 75,000 ETH committed to improving the network security. The move marks a comeback for TheDAO, an Ethereum OG project that was hacked in 2016
TheDAO announced the new initiative on X, noting that it is making a comeback after a decade.
The announcement reads:
Over $200 Million in Recovered ETH Available to Boost Ethereum Security
Over 75,000 ETH, worth about $200 million, has been committed to the security fund. This allocation comes from unclaimed ETH linked to the 2016 TheDAO hack.
The move repurposes those assets to strengthen protections in the ecosystem. TheDAO was a crowdfunded venture capital fund that raised around $150 million worth of ETH at the time.
However, it was hacked within weeks, sparking a debate over how to recover the stolen funds. The Ethereum community finally decided to fork the network, which was still in its infancy at the time. This led to the creation of the Ethereum mainnet and Ethereum Classic.
Ethereum developer Green Griffin announced the new initiative in a post. He noted that part of the commitments included using unclaimed funds for smart contract security. This approach aimed to strengthen protections in the ecosystem. The network is now living up to that intention.
About 20% of the funds recovered were never claimed. These funds were initially worth around $6 million, but their value has exceeded $200 million.
The funds are divided into two segments. One part is 70,500 ETH held in the ExtraBalance Withdrawal contract. The other part is 4,600 ETH, including Ether and DAO tokens, stored in TheDAO’s Curator Multisig.
Ethereum Taps Stakeholders and Network Participants for Grants Allocation
Meanwhile, the newly formed TheDAO has a management team known as TheDAO Curators. The group consists of seven members.
It includes Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, developer Green Griffin, Taylor Monahan from MetaMask, and Alex Van de Sande from ENS. Three other individuals also serve in this role.
The grants under the fund will focus on all Ethereum security-oriented projects. These projects focus on wallet UX improvements. They also advance smart contract development.
In addition, they strengthen core protocol security. Their work spans both the Ethereum mainnet and L2 ecosystems.
Several stakeholders in the Ethereum ecosystem will play key roles in managing the grants. The Ethereum Foundation’s Grants Management team will provide the eligibility requirements for each round.
However, independent operators will be selected for each funding round, and anyone can apply. Giveth will support these operators.
Interestingly, the fund plans to stake 69,420 ETH for generating yield. The grants will be funded from the yield and 4,600 ETH in the Curators multisig. Some assets will stay in the ExtraBalance Withdraw contract.
This ensures claims can continue to be processed. The split balances funding new initiatives with honoring past commitments. Dappnode will manage the staking.
Despite this positive development, which highlights improvements in Ethereum standards, the token is down 6.5% today. CoinMarketCap data shows that ETH is down to $2,800 after a sharp decline that affected the whole crypto market.
The post Ethereum Revives TheDAO Fund With 75,000 ETH for Security appeared first on The Market Periodical.