The ENS DAO has voted to approve the 'Next Era of ENS DAO' proposal and completed its on-chain execution, formally establishing the ENS Foundation. The foundation will operate as a fully staffed organization with an executive director, a professional team, and a five-member board, taking on institutional responsibilities spanning legal affairs, policy engagement, standards development, and brand protection. ENS noted that while it has grown into key Ethereum infrastructure with millions of registered domain names and broad integration across wallets, applications, and Layer 2 networks, the DAO lacked a legal identity, which limited its ability to participate in internet naming governance, sign institutional agreements, hire full-time employees, maintain trademark rights, or join regulatory discussions. The new foundation is designed to fill that gap. Its future duties include representing ENS at ICANN, IETF, and W3C to advance recognition and management of the '.ens' top-level domain; engaging with regulators and government bodies as a legal entity; safeguarding ENS trademarks and intellectual property against phishing and impersonation; hiring full-time staff to run ecosystem operations, grants, and treasury management; and serving as the formal cooperation interface between traditional institutions such as registrars and standards organizations and the ENS ecosystem.
The ENS DAO has voted through "Next Era of ENS DAO" proposal and executed it on-chain, formally establishing the ENS Foundation. The move marks a shift in how the Ethereum Name Service project is governed.
Under the proposal, the foundation is set up as a fully operational entity with an executive director, a professional staff, and a five-member board. Its remit covers legal matters, policy, standards development, and brand protection.
ENS says that over the past decade it has become core infrastructure in the Ethereum ecosystem, with millions of registered names and integration across a wide range of wallets, dApps, and Layer 2 networks. The DAO, however, lacked legal personality. That made it hard to participate in internet naming governance, sign cooperation agreements with institutions, hire full-time employees, defend trademarks, or join regulatory discussions. The foundation is designed to fill that gap.
Five core responsibilities
The foundation's tasks include:
- Representing ENS at internet standards bodies, including ICANN, IETF, and W3C, and pushing for recognition and management of the ".ens" top-level domain;
- Taking part in policy discussions as a legal entity and communicating with regulators and government agencies;
- Holding and protecting ENS trademarks and intellectual property, and fighting phishing and impersonation;
- Hiring full-time staff to run ecosystem operations, grants, and treasury management;
- Serving as the formal cooperation link between traditional institutions—such as registrars and standards organizations—and the ENS ecosystem.
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