AIP-454: The BANANA Bill: Apes Gotta Eat 

ABSTRACT

This proposal requests funding to support the long-term sustainability and growth of ApeChain through the creation of the “Banana Program”, with two complementary initiatives:

• a Commercial Agreements Initiative; and
• a User Incentives Initiative

The Commercial Agreements Initiative is tasked with negotiating commercial agreements with projects, companies and protocols committed to building on ApeChain. These commercial agreements will cover a wide array of structures and incentive models, including the possibility of revenue shares, collaborations, and other ownership arrangements. However, a key commonality will be that the terms of the commercial agreements will provide value to the ApeCoin DAO.

The commercial agreements may also incentivize builders to use community and stakeholder intellectual property in games, activations and/or protocols utilizing ApeChain, and to integrate ApeCoin into game and protocol economics on ApeChain.

Any proceeds generated from the commercial agreements will be redirected back into the overall budget for the programs so that this will become a reusable source of funding for supporting and growing ApeChain. Proceeds may come in various forms, such as tokens, revenue share (fiat or crypto), stock, or assets. Given that each of these will need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis (e.g. what wallet would crypto revenue share be transferred to), the Special Council will determine for each Commercial Agreement how the proceeds will be returned to the Banana Program for continued use during the two year term, or returned to the ApeCoin DAO.

Similarly, the User Incentives Initiative (as detailed further below) will distribute user incentives with the goal of proportionally growing the network, and may be used as a part of the overall package when negotiating the core economic terms of the commercial agreements.

The Advisory Committee will oversee both programs, including providing endorsements for commercial agreements that will be subject to Special Council veto-authority. The Advisory Committee will be initially composed of the members noted above, and will be supported in day-to-day operations by a Program Facilitator and Strategic Accounts Manager.

This proposal will create a vibrant and attractive environment for game publishers and developers, DeFi protocols, and others seeking to build on ApeChain. The commercial agreements will aim to create a steady stream of future revenue and value, empowering the ApeCoin DAO to continue funding growth many years into the future.

This proposal will Bolster ApeChain Network Activity through New Allocations (BANANA). This is the BANANA Bill: Apes Gotta Eat.

BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM

We anticipate that the ApeCoin DAO will receive ongoing revenue from capturing around 77.5% of the fees generated from user activity on ApeChain. As such, ensuring the chain’s success should be a top priority of the DAO.

Additionally, the chain’s growth will offer other valuable opportunities for the DAO, including but not limited to airdrop negotiations, bridge liquidity with associated fee capture, and increased utility for $APE.

(1) User Incentives Initiative for ApeChain

The User Incentives Initiative will provide a pool of rewards for users of ApeChain. This initiative will focus on growing the ApeChain ecosystem by educating and encouraging users to try out different dApps, with the goal of a larger proportion of rewards being allocated to dApps that most strongly contribute to the sustainable growth of ApeChain. This initiative will also focus on indirectly growing the ApeChain ecosystem by incentivizing the creation of dApps, community intellectual property, and other content on ApeChain.

The initiative will be overseen by the Advisory Committee with support from the Program Facilitator and Strategic Accounts Manager. The responsibilities of the Advisory Committee include:

• Negotiating the size and methods of distribution of incentives through dApps.
• Creating and managing user incentive analytics, such as growth and adoption metrics, to measure the benefits of the incentives
• Identifying industry leading incentive distribution methods and implementing them on ApeChain.

(2) The Commercial Agreements Initiative for ApeChain

The Commercial Agreements Initiative will facilitate the seamless creation of bespoke commercial agreements with companies and individuals that want to utilize ApeChain. The Advisory Committee may also leverage the User Incentives Initiative to optimize the terms of the commercial agreements. This initiative will be overseen by the Advisory Committee, with day-to-day support from the Program Facilitator and Strategic Accounts Manager. The responsibilities of the Advisory Committee in overseeing the Commercial Agreements Program include:

• Reviewing Proposals: reviewing proposals for commercial agreements submitted by applicants, including the potential for value accrual for the ApeCoin DAO.
• Assessing Alignment with Ecosystem Growth Strategy: Beyond purely economic analysis, evaluating whether the proposed commercial agreements align with the mission, strategy, and values of ApeChain and the ApeCoin DAO. They may only endorse partnerships or collaborations that benefit the ApeCoin DAO and advance its objectives.
• Financial Analysis: analyzing the financial aspects of proposed commercial agreements, including:
  • Potential for value accrual
  • Costs
  • Profitability
  • Sustainability
• Risk Assessment: Conducting risk assessments of each proposed commercial agreement. This involves evaluating potential risks and benefits, assessing financial implications, legal considerations, reputational risks, and any other factors that may impact ApeChain.
• Due Diligence: Performing due diligence on potential partners or collaborators to ensure their credibility, reliability, and suitability for the proposed commercial agreement. This may include background checks, financial analysis, and assessment of past performance.
• Legal Review: In collaboration with legal counsel, reviewing proposed commercial agreements under applicable laws, regulations, and policies.
• Decision Making: Based on their evaluations and assessments, recommending which commercial agreements to enter, which are subject to veto by the Special Council of the APE Foundation.
• Monitoring and Oversight: Once commercial agreements are approved and implemented, providing ongoing monitoring and oversight to monitor compliance with agreed-upon terms and objectives. The Advisory Committee may periodically review performance metrics, financial reports, and other relevant information to assess the effectiveness and impact of the agreements.
• Reporting: The Advisory Committee charter will be made public, and each quarter there will be a transparency report disclosing the total amount allocated that quarter, and outlining which commercial agreements have been made (but not the specific terms of each agreement), subject to any duties of confidentiality negotiated with the counterparty in the commercial contract.

OVERALL COST

Total: 100 Million ApeCoin with target allocations to the following initiatives:

User Incentives Initiative: 23 Million APE in total
Commercial Agreements Initiative: 73 Million APE in total
Administrative Budget: 2 Million APE per year, to be paid Quarterly

• Advisory Committee: up to 1,250,000 APE
• Program Facilitator (including all team members): up to 300,000 APE
• Strategic Accounts Manager (including all team members): up to 450,000 APE

The Program Facilitator and Strategic Accounts Manager will rely on additional team members and resources at their respective companies to perform all of their responsibilities as needed, staying within the Administrative Budget allocated above, with any changes subject to Special Council approval.

The administrative budget is also meant to cover any incidental costs related to the management of the program, including compensation for the Regional Community Advisors. The administrative budget is currently estimated at 2% of the total budget annually and should not exceed 3%. Note that this administrative budget is an estimate, and may be higher or lower depending on the number of Advisory Committee members.

The compensation paid to each eligible Advisory Committee member will be based on their experience and skillset. However, in all cases, the total amount paid to any individual Advisory Committee member will not exceed 250,000 APE per-year, and all compensation will be subject to a 50% one-year lockup.

Specifically Approved Limitations:

• Yuga Labs may not receive any funds from the Banana Program, whether under the Commercial Agreements Initiative or the User Incentives Initiative
• Any person that is a Yuga Labs or Animoca employee, or any project or business owned by such person, may not receive compensation as a member of the Advisory Committee, as a Program Facilitator, or as a Strategic Accounts Manager.
• Any person, or any project or business owned by such person, who is a member of the Special Council, Advisory Committee, a Program Facilitator, or a Strategic Accounts Manager may not receive any funding under the Commercial Agreements Initiative or the User Incentives Initiative, unless such potential conflict is disclosed to the Advisory Committee and such person recuses him or herself from any decision making.
Any Advisory Committee member already receiving compensation from the APE Foundation may not receive the compensation listed here. For example, any Special Council member on the Advisory Committee will not receive the compensation otherwise intended for an Advisory Committee member.

Specifically Approved Terms:

• 100,000,000 APE to be used for the Banana Program, provided:
  • Up to 65,000,000 APE may be allocated under the Commercial Agreements Initiative in Year 1
  • Up to 23,000,000 APE may be allocated under the User Incentives Initiative in total, and no more than 73,000,000 APE may be allocated under the Commercial Agreements Initiative in total, unless the Special Council approves such adjustment
• Two year term for the Banana Program, such that any APE not allocated under the Commercial Agreements Initiative or the Users Incentives Initiative by the end of the term will be returned to the ApeCoin DAO treasury
• Approval to spend no more than 3,000,000 APE per year on administrative expenses, including but not limited to, payments to Advisory Committee members, any Program Facilitator, any Strategic Accounts Manager, or any other consultant or advisor providing services to support the Banana Program, legal and business costs and expenses, and other similar costs or expenses.
• The Advisory Committee to oversee the Banana Program based on its Charter (see below) and for the Special Council to oversee the Banana Program and Advisory Committee based on the Banana Program Rules (see below)
• The people identified above (acting in their individual capacity) will initially make up the Advisory Committee, the Program Facilitator, and the Strategic Accounts Managers, as identified above.
• The Special Council may appoint up to two more Advisory Committee members in accordance with the Banana Program Rules (see below) so that the total number of Advisory Committee members will not exceed 7.
• All funds allocated under the Banana Program must be affirmatively endorsed by a majority of the Advisory Committee (e.g. 3 of 5, 4 of 6 or 4 of 7) and must not be vetoed by the Special Council.

Specific Requirements of Approval:

• Within 30 days of the Banana Bill passing:
  • The Advisory Committee will submit for the Special Council’s approval its “Charter”, which outlines its decision-making process and standards, which will at a minimum require that a majority of the Advisory Committee approve making an endorsement under the User Incentive Initiative or Commercial Agreement Initiative
  • The Special Council will publish the Banana Program Rules for (i) adding or replacing members of the Advisory Committee, (ii) vetoing an Advisory Committee recommendation, with the intent to veto only in limited, objective circumstances, and (iii) replacing the Strategic Accounts Manager or Program Facilitator, which will only be initiated upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.
• Each quarter during the two year term, subject to confidentiality obligations, a transparency report will be published identifying at a minimum (i) the amount of APE allocated under the Commercial Agreements Initiative and User Incentives Initiative during the prior six months, and (ii) the number of commercial agreements entered into in the prior six months, along with the names of the counterparties.
• The APE Foundation, upon advice of legal counsel, may structure the execution of the Banana Program as advisable or necessary under applicable law.

PROPOSAL

Link to the full proposal: https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-454-the-banana-bill-apes-gotta-eat/24367

The AIP implementation is administered by the Ape Foundation. Implementation may be immaterially or materially altered to optimise for security, usability, to protect APE holders, and otherwise to effect the intent of the AIP. Any material deviations from an AIP, as initially approved, will be disclosed to the APE holder community.