According to breaking news, the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin are creating a $220 million security fund to be financed by “TheDAO”.
The 2016 TheDAO attack is considered one of the most critical turning points in Ethereum’s history. The attacker’s seizure of approximately 4.5% of all ETH in circulation at the time plunged the network into an existential crisis; ultimately, a hard fork resulted in Ethereum splitting into two, giving rise to Ethereum Classic.
Almost a decade later, this largest security vulnerability in Ethereum’s history will now be used to strengthen the ecosystem’s security.
Assets remaining from the TheDAO process that have not yet been claimed will be used to create a security fund of approximately $220 million under the name TheDAO Security Fund. While a portion of the fund will remain untouched for future use, a significant portion will be allocated to projects focused on Ethereum security.
Griff Green, one of the key figures in the fund’s creation, worked at Slock.it, which coded TheDAO in 2016, and was later part of the “White Hat Group” that rescued the funds. Green stated, “It’s 2026, and these funds haven’t been touched. Their value has increased significantly. Now is the time to use them to make Ethereum more secure.” Green is also associated with Giveth, known for its donation and DAO infrastructure.
Following the 2016 attack, the Ethereum community established a mechanism via Withdrawal Contracts to recover stolen ETH. However, over the years, some assets were never claimed. These include approximately 4,600 ETH (approximately $13.5 million) remaining in Curator Multisig and overpayments totaling 70,500 ETH, referred to as “ExtraBalance.”
The plan is to stake 69,420 ETH from this ExtraBalance pool. Under current conditions, this amount is estimated to generate approximately $8 million in annual returns. Thus, the fund will transform from a one-time source of funding into a security fund that generates continuous income.
One of the fund’s secondary goals is to revitalize the DAO ecosystem. Green noted that many DAOs have recently closed or suspended operations, saying, “The DAO ecosystem is currently at a low point. People are asking, ‘Why should I start a DAO?'”
According to Green, Ethereum’s original promise was to make decision-making processes more transparent and participatory. This vision, which was targeted with TheDAO a decade ago, is now intended to be realized through a new security-focused fund.
*This is not investment advice.
