TheDAO Security Fund has launched the second round of its ETHSecurity Initiatives, focusing on targeted community proposals for onchain security. The submission window remains open until late January 2027, with final funding decisions anticipated by mid-November 2026.
The initiative has earmarked $600,000 for a formally verified Vyper compiler and $300,000 for a decentralized privacy-preserving detection system by Auditware. Organizers expect that up to 100 proposals may receive funding and community input during this cycle.
A group of 200 vetted security experts, known as ETHSecurity Badge holders, will evaluate proposals using AI-assisted processes. This shift marks a transition from the broad grant approach used in the first round, which distributed over $1.6 million to 135 projects.
The fund operates through a staking endowment created from approximately 69,420 unclaimed ETH recovered after the 2016 DAO hack. This endowment generates an estimated $8 million in annual yield to support ongoing Ethereum security development.
