What is the Banana Bill?

The “BANANA Bill” is the informal name for ApeCoin Improvement Proposal (AIP) 454, a formal governance proposal accepted by the ApeCoin DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) on July 4, 2024.¹ Titled ‘AIP-454: The BANANA Bill: Apes Gotta Eat’, the proposal established a 100 million APE token fund to support the long-term growth and sustainability of ApeChain, a blockchain network central to the ApeCoin ecosystem.¹

The name BANANA is an acronym for “Bolster ApeChain Network Activity through New Allocations”.¹ The bill represents a significant financial commitment from the community’s treasury, valued at approximately $70 million USD at the time of the ApeChain mainnet launch, to incentivize development, user engagement, and commercial partnerships on the new network.²

Proposal Details

The BANANA Bill was designed as a two-year program to strategically deploy capital to attract high-quality projects and drive user activity on ApeChain.¹

Funding and Allocation

The proposal requested a total of 100 million APE tokens to be allocated to the “Banana Program”.¹ The funds were divided into three main categories ¹:

Commercial Agreements Initiative (73 million APE): This portion is designated for creating bespoke commercial partnerships with companies, developers, and individuals building on ApeChain. The goal is to foster the development of infrastructure, games, and DeFi applications that can create sustainable, long-term revenue streams for the ApeCoin DAO treasury. Any proceeds generated are to be redirected back into the program’s budget.¹
User Incentives Initiative (23 million APE): This fund is intended to directly encourage user engagement and adoption of decentralized applications (dApps) on the ApeChain network.
Administrative Budget (up to 4 million APE): The bill allocates up to 2 million APE per year for administrative costs, including payments to committee members, advisors, and legal and business expenses.

The program is set for a two-year term, after which any unallocated funds are to be returned to the ApeCoin DAO treasury.¹

Governance and Oversight

The BANANA Bill established a multi-layered governance structure to oversee the allocation of funds ¹:

Advisory Committee: A committee composed of community members and industry leaders, including individuals from Yuga Labs and Animoca Brands, was proposed to oversee the Banana Program. This committee is responsible for researching, identifying, and endorsing suitable projects.¹
Special Council Veto: All fund allocations must be endorsed by a majority of the Advisory Committee. However, the DAO’s Special Council retains the authority to veto any recommendation.¹
Transparency: The Advisory Committee is required to provide a transparency report to the DAO on a quarterly basis.³

Implementation and Funded Projects

Following the launch of the ApeChain mainnet in October 2024, the Banana Bill became the primary funding mechanism for ecosystem development.² A slate of applications were announced as launching or upcoming on the new chain, including

Yuga Labs’ Top Trader, Pixel Vault’s Battle Plan, Sugartown’s Poker, and the metaverse project Otherside.²

To drive user engagement, an incentive program called “Spotlight” was created. Under this initiative, applications funded by the Banana Bill set aside future rewards for users based on their engagement, which is tracked via a points system.²

Q1 2025 Transparency Report

The first transparency report for the Banana Program was released in May 2025, detailing the fund’s activities for the first quarter of 2025.⁴ The report revealed that 31.2 million APE had been allocated from the treasury for commercial deals, user incentives, marketing, and other foundational efforts.⁴

Of that total, 14.6 million APE was used to directly support 36 projects across various sectors.⁴ Notable recipients included ⁴:

DeFi: Zharta, LogX, Ithaca Protocol
Gaming: Token Racer, TontachiAR, Newstalgic Studios, SuperVerse
Infrastructure & Integrations: Merkl, Banxa, WhiteBit, GateIO, Coinstore
Other: Able Labs

Community Reaction and Controversy

The BANANA Bill passed with significant support but also generated considerable debate. Initial concerns focused on the large financial commitment, which represented over 40% of the DAO’s liquid treasury at the time, and the high-risk nature of investing in new projects.¹ Community members also voiced distrust over the perceived influence of Horizen Labs, the entity leading ApeChain’s development, and the lack of performance-based compensation for the program’s administrators.¹

The Q1 2025 transparency report sparked further criticism ⁴:

Lack of Detail: Critics argued the report lacked granular metrics on project performance or specific fund utilization, raising questions about accountability and return on investment.
Favoritism: The funding of established, “corporate-friendly” projects like SuperVerse, Banxa, and GateIO led to accusations that the bill favors insiders and well-connected entities over smaller, community-led initiatives.
Financial Sustainability: The allocation of nearly a third of the entire two-year budget in a single quarter raised concerns about the program’s long-term financial sustainability, particularly in a challenging market.

Recent Developments: The Proposal to Sunset the DAO

The controversies surrounding the Banana Bill’s rapid spending and governance occurred within a broader debate about the effectiveness of the ApeCoin DAO itself. In June 2025, Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano introduced AIP-596, a proposal to dissolve the ApeCoin DAO and transfer its assets and responsibilities to a new, centralized entity called ApeCo.⁵

The rationale for this change was to eliminate “governance gridlock,” accelerate development, and focus resources on core pillars like ApeChain.⁵ The Banana Bill’s allocation of 31.2 million APE in a single quarter was cited in community discussions as an example of the DAO’s inefficiency and questionable capital allocation, fueling arguments for a more centralized and professionally managed structure.⁵ This proposal places the future oversight of the Banana Program and its remaining funds into question as the ecosystem considers a fundamental shift away from decentralized governance.

References

AIP-454: The BANANA Bill: Apes Gotta Eat. (2024). ApeCoin DAO Forum. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-454-the-banana-bill-apes-gotta-eat/24367
ApeChain Mainnet Launches at ApeFest with Industry-First Demos. (2024). Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241021095319/en/ApeChain-Mainnet-Launches-at-ApeFest-with-Industry-First-Demos
Implementation Update | AIP-454: The BANANA Bill: Apes Gotta Eat. (2025). ApeCoin DAO Forum. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/implementation-update-aip-454-the-banana-bill-apes-gotta-eat/24752/14
A Foray into Ape Foundation’s Q1 2025 Banana Bill Transparency Report. (2025). Tekedia. https://www.tekedia.com/a-foray-into-ape-foundations-q1-2025-banana-bill-transparency-report/
AIP-596: Sunsetting the DAO and launching ApeCo – A new operating model for ApeCoin. (2025). ApeCoin DAO Forum. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-596-sunsetting-the-dao-and-launching-apeco-a-new-operating-model-for-apecoin/28242