ENS DAO turmoil: Founder blocks Security Council renewal

ENS DAO’s Security Council renewal was blocked by co-founder Nick Johnson, who used about 50% of voting power, sparking debate over centralization and new governance proposals.

ENS DAO is facing a major governance crisis after co-founder Nick Johnson used his significant voting power—about 50% of the active supply, or 3.26 million ENS tokens—to block the Security Council’s renewal for another two years. Although the proposal initially passed an off-chain Snapshot vote, Johnson abstained at that stage but later voted against the binding on-chain proposal, citing concerns over the council’s structure and veto authority. His decisive vote led to the proposal’s failure, sparking intense criticism and debate within the community about centralization and the concentration of voting power. In response, a new proposal was introduced to establish an eight-member council and raise the threshold for canceling timelocked proposals. The ENS DAO treasury currently holds over $350 million, while the governance token has dropped more than 95% from its all-time high. The controversy has intensified discussions about the DAO’s decentralization and future, with nominations for the new council open until July 3.