What is an Ape Improvement Proposal (AIP)?

Ape Improvement Proposals (AIPs) were the formal design documents used by the ApeCoin community to propose, discuss, and vote on initiatives within the APE ecosystem.⁷ Functioning as the core mechanism of the ApeCoin Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), the AIP process was the framework through which any holder of the ApeCoin ($APE) token could suggest changes, projects, partnerships, and allocations from the DAO’s Ecosystem Fund.⁸ The system was active from the DAO’s inception in March 2022 until its formal dissolution in June 2025.

The entire AIP governance model and the ApeCoin DAO itself were officially sunsetted following the passage of AIP-596. This landmark proposal, initiated by Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano, transferred all assets and governance responsibilities from the decentralized community structure to a new, centralized entity named ApeCo, which is directly established and run by Yuga Labs.¹⁰ This event marked the definitive end of the AIP era and a fundamental shift in the governance of the APE ecosystem.

Note: This article discusses the Ape Improvement Proposal (AIP) process related to the ApeCoin DAO. This should not be confused with other uses of the acronym “AIP,” such as Google’s API Improvement Proposals ¹, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model used in psychology ³, or the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet.⁵

Overview and Foundational Principles

Definition and Purpose

An Ape Improvement Proposal was a formal document that proposed a new feature, project, expenditure, or governance change for the APE ecosystem.⁷ The primary purpose of the AIP process was to empower the community of APE token holders with direct control over the ecosystem’s evolution. It was a system of decentralized governance designed to determine how the substantial ApeCoin DAO Ecosystem Fund would be utilized to foster a diverse and self-sustaining environment for art, gaming, entertainment, and other Web3 ventures.⁸

Membership in the ApeCoin DAO, and by extension the right to create and vote on AIPs, was designed to be highly accessible. The only requirement was holding at least one APE token, which allowed for broad participation from across the community.⁸

Guiding Values

The creation and assessment of AIPs were intended to be guided by a set of five core principles established by the APE Foundation. These values were meant to reflect the ethos of the community and provide a philosophical framework for governance decisions ⁸:

• Boldness: Encouraging ambitious and unconventional ideas.
• Equality: Upholding the principle that one APE token equals one vote.
• Transparency: Ensuring that all processes and decisions were openly shared with the community.
• Collective Responsibility: A commitment to improving the ecosystem for all participants.
• Persistence: Recognizing that success is an iterative and ongoing process.

Relationship with Yuga Labs and the APE Ecosystem

While ApeCoin is widely known as the official token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) ¹³, the ApeCoin DAO was launched as an independent and legally distinct entity from Yuga Labs, the creators of BAYC.¹⁴ This separation was a deliberate structural choice to foster a decentralized community. However, the ecosystem’s identity, value, and strategic direction remained inextricably linked to Yuga Labs’ flagship projects, including BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and the Otherside metaverse.¹⁶

This structure created an inherent and persistent tension between the stated ideals of decentralization and the practical influence of a central corporate entity. The DAO’s formal independence, as outlined in its founding documents, was constantly tested by its deep reliance on the brand equity and strategic vision of Yuga Labs. While the DAO was theoretically governed by a global community of token holders, its most significant and consequential decisions were often prompted or heavily influenced by Yuga Labs’ actions and statements. The calamitous gas fees during the Yuga-led Otherdeeds mint, for example, directly spurred a Yuga Labs suggestion that ApeCoin needed its own blockchain, which in turn led to the AIP process that created ApeChain.¹⁷ Ultimately, this dynamic culminated in the Yuga Labs CEO initiating AIP-596 to dissolve the DAO entirely, a proposal that passed with overwhelming support from large token holders.¹⁰ This final act demonstrated that the decentralized framework, while functional for community grants and smaller initiatives, operated under the shadow of its corporate originator, whose influence proved decisive in moments of strategic re-evaluation.

The Governance Framework (Pre-ApeCo)

Prior to its dissolution, the AIP process was managed by a multi-layered governance structure designed to balance community participation with operational oversight.

The ApeCoin DAO

The ApeCoin DAO was the highest governing body, consisting of all APE token holders. It operated on a principle of token-weighted democracy, where one APE token represented one vote on any given proposal.⁸ DAO members were the lifeblood of the system, responsible for generating AIP Ideas, participating in discussions on the community forum, and casting votes on Live AIPs via the Snapshot platform.⁸

The APE Foundation

The APE Foundation served as the legal steward and administrative arm of the DAO.¹⁴ Its mandate was to facilitate the will of the community, not to direct it. Key functions included:

• Distributing funds from the Ecosystem Fund as directed by passed AIPs.⁸
• Handling day-to-day administrative and operational tasks to ensure the DAO could function.¹⁸
• Engaging a professional project management team. This team was tasked with a critical step in the AIP lifecycle: producing a detailed “AIP Analysis Report” for proposal drafts. This report provided voters with an objective assessment of a proposal’s costs, legal implications, implementation roadmap, and potential conflicts of interest, thereby enabling more informed decision-making.⁸

The Special Council (Board)

Within the APE Foundation was a Special Council, also referred to as the Board. This council was composed of members elected by the DAO for six-month terms.⁸ The Board’s primary role was to serve as a final administrative checkpoint before a proposal went to a community vote. It had the authority to review pending AIPs and could return a proposal to its author for one of two reasons ⁸:

• Return for Clarification: Used for proposals with unclear costs, potential conflicts with other AIPs, or other ambiguities.
• Return for Reconstruction: Reserved for proposals deemed to be at odds with the DAO’s mission, legally problematic, or suspected of fraud.

Working Groups

To manage specific operational domains, the DAO established working groups composed of elected community members. The most prominent of these was the Governance Working Group (GWG). The GWG was responsible for the day-to-day facilitation of the AIP process, managing the Discourse forum and Discord server, ensuring community communications were effective, and overseeing the smooth operation of the DAO’s governance mechanisms.²⁰ The GWG operated with its own budget, which was itself approved via an AIP, such as AIP-317, demonstrating a layered approach to decentralized operations.²¹

This intricate structure, while designed to ensure due diligence and protect the DAO, gradually evolved into a complex bureaucracy. The path from a simple idea to a community vote involved multiple stages of review and approval by distinct bodies: moderators, the APE Foundation’s project management team, the Special Council, and the GWG. Each layer, intended as a safeguard, added time and potential friction to the process. This procedural complexity became a significant source of frustration within the community and was a key factor in the development of “DAO fatigue.” The very mechanisms created to professionalize the AIP process inadvertently contributed to the perception of it being “sluggish” and “inefficient”, criticisms later leveraged by Yuga Labs to justify the transition to the more centralized ApeCo model.¹⁰

The AIP Lifecycle: From Idea to Implementation

The journey of an Ape Improvement Proposal followed a structured, multi-phase process, formally established in AIP-1 ⁷ and detailed in the official governance guide.⁸

1. Phase 1: AIP Idea: The process began when a DAO member, known as the “author,” posted a concept on the official ApeCoin DAO Discourse forum. This submission initiated a mandatory seven-day period for informal community feedback. During this time, other DAO members could comment, ask questions, and suggest improvements, allowing the author to gauge sentiment and refine the idea.⁷
2. Phase 2: AIP Draft: Following the seven-day feedback window, the author could proceed to the next stage by working with forum moderators to formalize the idea into an AIP Draft. This required using a standardized template that mandated specific sections to ensure clarity and completeness, including an Abstract, Benefit to the ApeCoin Ecosystem, detailed Steps to Implement, a Timeline, and the Overall Cost.⁷
3. Phase 3: Draft Analysis: The completed AIP Draft was submitted to a project management team retained by the APE Foundation. This team conducted a formal review and produced an “AIP Analysis Report.” This crucial document provided an impartial assessment of the proposal’s feasibility, identifying its budget, implementation requirements, legal considerations, and any potential conflicts of interest. The report was designed to equip DAO members with the necessary information to cast an informed vote.⁸
4. Phase 4 & 5: Moderator and Administrative Review: The AIP Draft, bundled with its Analysis Report, was reviewed by moderators to ensure it complied with all DAO guidelines. Depending on the proposal’s nature and complexity, it could then be forwarded to the Special Council for a final administrative review. The Council would ensure the proposal did not pose a legal or existential risk to the DAO before approving it for a community vote.⁸
5. Phase 6: Live AIP on Snapshot: Once a proposal passed all necessary reviews, it was designated a “Live AIP” and formally posted on the Snapshot voting platform. To manage the flow of proposals, new AIPs were released in bi-monthly batches, typically on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 9:00 PM ET.⁸
6. Phase 7: Voting Period: The voting window for a batch of Live AIPs remained open for 13 days, concluding on the second Wednesday following its release at 9:00 PM ET. Voting on Snapshot was gasless, meaning it did not require an Ethereum transaction fee, which encouraged wider participation. The principle of “one APE, one vote” was strictly followed.⁸
7. Phase 8: Implementation: If an AIP received more “In Favor” votes than “Against” votes, it was considered passed. The APE Foundation’s project management team was then tasked with overseeing the execution of the proposal according to the “Steps to Implement” outlined in the approved document. Proposal authors were expected to provide the community with regular progress reports on the Discourse forum until the project was complete.⁸

AIP Categories with Examples

AIPs were classified into three primary categories, each with a distinct purpose. Core proposals were further divided into two subcategories.⁸ The system’s practical application can be seen through the variety of proposals that were debated and voted upon, some of which were implemented while others were rejected by the community.

Core Proposals

Core proposals were those that made a substantive change to the ecosystem, typically involving the DAO’s treasury or its official brand.

• Ecosystem Fund Allocation: This was the most frequent type of AIP, involving a direct request for funding from the DAO’s treasury to support a project, event, or service.
• Brand Decision: These proposals concerned the use of the ApeCoin brand in collaborations, partnerships, or other public-facing initiatives.

Process Proposals

Process proposals were meta-proposals aimed at modifying the governance framework itself. This included suggestions for changing voting rules, proposal guidelines, or the tools and platforms used by the DAO.⁷

Informational Proposals

These AIPs were created to provide official guidelines or share information with the community. They did not require funding or a change to the DAO’s processes but served as a formal way to document information or community consensus on a non-binding issue.⁸

The following table provides illustrative examples of AIPs from each category, including both implemented and rejected proposals, to demonstrate the scope of governance undertaken by the DAO.

AIP Number & Title	Category	Status	Summary of Proposal
AIP-378: ApeChain Developed with Arbitrum Technology	Core (Ecosystem Fund Allocation)	Implemented	To build a dedicated Layer-3 blockchain for the APE ecosystem on the Arbitrum stack, using APE as the gas token.
AIP-1: Proposing the DAO – Process	Process	Implemented	Established the foundational rules, definitions, and lifecycle for the entire AIP process.
AIP-7: Restructuring the Forum Categories	Informational	Implemented	Reorganized the ApeCoin Discourse forum to improve navigation, add new categories, and enhance community discussion flow.
AIP-282: Information Request – Role of Special Council	Informational	Implemented	Requested a formal written document from the APE Foundation and Special Council detailing their day-to-day responsibilities and expectations.
AIP-260: Forever Apes // Welcome To ApeCoin, The IRL Onboarding Kit	Core (Ecosystem Fund Allocation)	Rejected	A proposal to create and distribute physical “IRL” onboarding kits for new members of the ApeCoin community.
AIP-409: Voter Discovery and Coalitions in ApeCoin DAO	Process	Rejected	A proposal to implement a system for discovering voters and forming coalitions to improve governance engagement and combat voter apathy.

Landmark Developments and The Path to Centralization

The history of the AIP process is defined by several key decisions that shaped the ecosystem’s trajectory, ultimately leading to a complete overhaul of its governance model.

The ApeChain Decision (AIP-378)

As the APE ecosystem grew, the high transaction costs and congestion on the Ethereum mainnet became a significant bottleneck, particularly after the chaotic Otherdeeds mint event.¹⁷ This prompted a push within the community, encouraged by Yuga Labs, to create a dedicated blockchain. The winning proposal, AIP-378, put forth by Horizen Labs and Arbitrum’s developer Offchain Labs, outlined a plan to build “ApeChain” as a Layer-3 network using the Arbitrum Orbit technology stack.²⁴

Proponents of AIP-378 argued that this approach would provide significant benefits, including ultra-low transaction fees essential for gaming applications, the ability to use APE as the native gas token to increase its utility, and the potential to generate revenue for the DAO treasury.²⁴ However, the vote was not without controversy. A significant portion of the community raised concerns when it was revealed that Horizen Labs, a co-author of the proposal and a key technical partner, used its substantial APE holdings to cast one of the largest and most decisive votes in favor of its own proposal. This led to accusations of self-dealing and raised questions about the fairness and decentralization of the voting process.²³

The Great Transition: Sunsetting the DAO (AIP-596)

By mid-2025, a growing sentiment of “DAO fatigue” had permeated the community, with many participants feeling that the governance process had become inefficient and ineffective.¹⁰ In June 2025, Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano catalyzed this sentiment by introducing AIP-596, a radical proposal to completely dissolve the ApeCoin DAO and its governance systems.¹⁰

Solano’s rationale was stark: he argued that the DAO experiment, while valuable initially, had “devolved into sluggish, noisy, and often unserious governance theater” and was wasting significant resources on “vanity proposals and low-impact initiatives”.¹⁰ The proposal called for a complete wind-down of the DAO, which included ¹⁰:

• Terminating the DAO governance system and all token holder voting rights.
• Nullifying all previous AIPs, except for contracts already executed.
• Dissolving all working groups, elections, and community forums.
• Transferring the entirety of the DAO’s assets, including its treasury of APE tokens, intellectual property, and technical infrastructure, to a new entity called ApeCo.

ApeCo was designed to be a “leaner, faster org” established and operated directly by Yuga Labs. Its mandate was to take a more professional, disciplined, and strategic approach to funding, focusing resources exclusively on bolstering Yuga’s core ecosystem pillars: ApeChain, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Otherside.¹⁰

The vote on AIP-596, held from June 13 to June 26, 2025, was a watershed moment. The proposal passed with an overwhelming 99.66% of the 46.75 million APE tokens cast voting in favor.³⁵ This decisive result officially ended the era of decentralized governance through AIPs and consolidated control of the ecosystem’s future under Yuga Labs.

The trajectory from the ApeChain vote to the final passage of AIP-596 reveals a consistent pattern of influence. While the DAO provided a platform for community-level grants and initiatives, its autonomy on major strategic decisions was limited. Yuga Labs and its key partners held what amounted to an unspoken veto power. When the DAO’s operational model was perceived to be failing, the core corporate stakeholder had the influence and token-weighted power to steer the community toward its preferred solution: a full re-centralization of authority. This history suggests that the AIP process was less a truly independent legislature and more a community engagement and grant-making system that operated within parameters ultimately defined by its most powerful stakeholder.

Comparison to Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs)

The ApeCoin DAO explicitly modeled its proposal process on the well-established Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) system.⁸ However, despite their shared ancestry and similar naming conventions, the two systems evolved to serve fundamentally different purposes, which is key to understanding their divergent structures and outcomes.

Shared Ancestry

Both systems utilize a formal, documented proposal structure and a categorization system (e.g., Core, Process, Informational) to organize proposed changes. The initial idea of a structured, community-facing process for suggesting improvements was drawn directly from the EIP framework.⁸

Key Differences

The distinctions between the two systems are more significant than their similarities and lie in their scope, consensus mechanisms, and execution authority.

• Scope and Domain: EIPs are almost exclusively focused on technical matters concerning the core Ethereum protocol. They define standards for networking, client APIs, and application-level conventions like token standards (e.g., ERC-20, ERC-721).³⁸ An EIP is a technical specification. In contrast, AIPs had a much broader and more commercial scope. They functioned as business plans, grant applications, marketing proposals, and operational budgets, in addition to governance changes.⁷
• Consensus Mechanism: The legitimacy of an EIP is determined not by a direct vote but by achieving “rough consensus” among the community, which primarily consists of core developers and client teams. A proposal is adopted based on its technical merit and broad, albeit informal, agreement.³⁸ AIPs, however, were decided by a formal, on-chain token-weighted vote on the Snapshot platform. An AIP could pass with sufficient voting power, regardless of its technical or business viability, while an EIP could be rejected by core developers if deemed technically unsound, even with popular support.⁸
• Execution and Authority: The implementation of a passed EIP is undertaken by the various independent software teams that build and maintain Ethereum clients. The EIP process itself has no central executive body.³⁹ The AIP process, conversely, relied on a dedicated legal and administrative entity, the APE Foundation and its Special Council, to oversee and execute the decisions made by the DAO.⁸

These differences highlight the divergent evolutionary paths of the two systems. The EIP process has proven to be a durable framework for managing and standardizing a technical public good: the Ethereum protocol. Its success lies in its focus on technical rigor and developer consensus. The AIP process, on the other hand, evolved into a mechanism for managing a decentralized venture fund and brand. It tasked a broad, token-holding electorate with making complex capital allocation and business strategy decisions. This model ultimately proved to be inefficient and susceptible to the political and operational challenges that led to criticisms of “governance theater”.¹⁵ The eventual replacement of the AIP system with a corporate-style entity like ApeCo can be seen as a logical outcome for a system whose primary function became capital management rather than technical standardization.

The Future of Governance: Life After AIPs

The passage of AIP-596 represents a definitive pivot in the APE ecosystem’s governance philosophy, moving from a broad-based, decentralized model to a focused, centralized one.¹¹

The Rise of ApeCo

With the dissolution of the DAO, ApeCo, an entity established and run by Yuga Labs, is now the sole governing body for the ecosystem.¹⁰ The open-ended, community-driven proposal system has been replaced by a top-down strategic vision directed by a professional team.

New Governance Model

Under ApeCo, decision-making is streamlined. The new mandate is to direct resources with greater discipline and accountability, focusing on initiatives that provide clear value to the core pillars of ApeChain, BAYC, and the Otherside.¹⁵ While this promises faster execution and potentially more impactful development, it comes at the direct cost of the governance rights previously held by every APE token holder. The future of the APE ecosystem will now be shaped not by a series of community votes, but by the strategic decisions of a central entity.

See Also

• Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)
• ApeCoin (APE)
• Yuga Labs
• Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)
• On-chain governance

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