Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum OGs to Create a $220M Security Fund from TheDAO

Key Notes

• Over 75,000 unclaimed $ETH from TheDAO structures, now worth around $220 million, will seed the new security fund.
• 69,420 $ETH to be staked, generating roughly $8 million in annual yield for ongoing grants.
• Grants target mainnet, layer 2 security, audits, user protection, and research through community-led DAO processes, per Unchained. .

Long-term Ethereum supporters, known as “OGs” are transforming remnants of the network’s most famous crisis into a major security boost. This refers to $220 million of locked funds from TheDAO hack from 2016 and a recent movement from Vitalik Buterin together with other Ethereum OGs to build a security fund with that idle money.

Laura Shin broke the story in an exclusive Unchained report published on Jan. 29. Griff Green, a curator from the original DAO and member of the White Hat rescue group, is leading the effort alongside other early contributors and Vitalik Buterin, according to Shin.

EXCLUSIVE: Ethereum OGs and @VitalikButerin to create a $220 million Ethereum security fund 🤯

You'll never guess where the money comes from … pic.twitter.com/KbfuQI6FX3

— Laura Shin (@laurashin) January 29, 2026

The funds come from two untouched pools left after the 2016 hack recovery. One of them is the ExtraBalance contract with 70,500 $ETH and the curator multisig holding assets worth $13.5 million. At current prices, the 70,500 $ETH are worth more than $200 million.

Most of the Ethereum $ETH $2 798 24h volatility: 6.9% Market cap: $337.80 B Vol. 24h: $34.69 B —69,420 $ETH—will be staked to create a sustainable income stream, while the rest supports immediate grants. Distribution will use quadratic funding, retroactive awards, and ranked-choice voting to stay true to DAO roots.

The Ethereum Foundation will define eligibility for each round, with operational help from Green’s organization Giveth. Supported work includes auditors like Trail of Bits and OpenZeppelin, incident response teams like SEAL 911, research platforms such as L2Beat, and user tools including Revoke.cash and Blockaid.

Notably, Green told Unchained the untouched funds have grown significantly over the decade. He sees the timing as right to direct them toward making Ethereum more secure. The move also seeks to rekindle DAO development, which Green described as at a low point amid regulatory hurdles and paused projects.

“It’s 2026 and we never touched any of those funds. They’ve appreciated substantially. And so it’s time. It’s time to put them to work to make Ethereum safer and more secure,” Griff Green told Laura Shin.

The 2016 DAO Hack and Its Lasting Impact

The original DAO raised over $150 million in 2016 but suffered a major exploit that drained millions in $ETH. At that time, the community hard fork returned most of the funds but split the chain, birthing Ethereum Classic—an event Coinspeaker covered at the time.

Nearly ten years later, recent Ethereum upgrades continue prioritizing security and resilience. Coinspeaker reported on Jan. 12, 2026, on Vitalik Buterin’s comments about the network passing a “walkway test” for long-term independence.

Developers are also advancing the Hegota upgrade to improve censorship resistance. Buterin has also been advocating for better, not bigger DAO governance designs—aligning with this fund’s community-focused approach.

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