ENS Labs has scaled back its proposal to establish an ENS Foundation. The updated executable draft, posted Thursday by ENS Labs Chief Operating Officer Katherine Wu, removes a plan to transfer the ENS DAO's operational wallet to the new entity.
The revision follows weeks of delegate opposition to an earlier version of the foundation plan. The initial proposal aimed to shift control of the DAO's main treasury to the newly formed foundation.
Delegates raised concerns about centralizing financial control outside direct on-chain DAO governance, arguing that moving the operational wallet undermined the decentralized nature of the ENS protocol's treasury management.
The core objection centered on reduced transparency and accountability. Delegates argued that direct DAO control through on-chain votes offered greater security and community oversight for treasury funds.
The ENS DAO treasury holds over 30,000 ETH and stablecoin reserves valued at approximately $55 million, based on ETH's current price of $1,836.
ENS Labs serves as the core development team for the Ethereum Name Service protocol. Its role typically involves initiating proposals and technical upgrades, which then go to ENS DAO token holders and delegates for approval.
The proposed ENS Foundation would provide a legal entity for managing non-protocol activities including legal representation, intellectual property and partnerships. Uniswap and Arbitrum have established similar foundations to handle off-chain responsibilities, though the extent of financial control delegated to those entities varies across protocols.
The revised executable draft is open for further discussion and is expected to proceed to a formal on-chain vote.
