ENS Foundation Takes Control of $65 Million Endowment After Vote

Ethereum Name Service, or ENS, has provided blockchain-based naming infrastructure since 2017, converting complex Ethereum addresses into human-readable names. Its DAO uses ENS-token-weighted voting to govern the protocol and its finances. The Endowment, established on March 7, 2023, was designed to generate returns that can support ENS over the long term, making control of the fund a significant test of financial oversight and decentralized accountability.

ENS tokenholders approved a governance overhaul on Aug. 11, 2026, turning the ENS Foundation into an operating organization with a five-member board and expanded financial authority. The foundation will assume administrative control of the Endowment, currently valued at about $65 million. Tokenholders will retain authority over core protocol matters, including upgrades and pricing, as well as the power to appoint or remove directors, preserving community oversight of the new structure.