“JUST WRITING CHECKS DOES NOT LEAD TO THE BEST RESULTS”: Garga Talks ApeCo And What’s Next For $Ape After The ApeCoin DAO Voted To Shut Itself Down

“Just writing checks does not lead to the best results.” Garga said on this week’s Meet At The Clubhouse space.

 

After the ApeCoin community voted to shut down the DAO and usher in the ApeCo era on Thursday, Yuga Labs CEO Garga took to Spaces and said he and the new ApeCo team are looking to cut the cruft, give builders an unfair advantage in the ecosystem, and get $Ape involved in the biggest and boredest IRL activations around the swamp.

The polls at the ApeCoin DAO closed for the last time this week after more than 3,200 wallets cast a combined 46.6 million $Ape votes in favor of Garga’s AIP-596, titled “Sunsetting the DAO and Launching ApeCo — A New Operating Model for ApeCoin.”

 

With that vote, the DAO’s governance system was officially sunsetted. That means no more AIP votes or Special Council elections. The proposal also overrides all previously passed AIPs, continues funding for ApeCoin staking contracts through March 2026, and begins transferring the DAO’s treasury to ApeCo, a new organization that will be led by ApeCoin CEO Cameron Kates and other members of the Banana Bill and Ape Foundation teams.

 

“It’s a shame ApeCoin had a billion dollar treasury and it could have done some serious damage. But at the end of the day you need humans. Its not enough to go vote on a thing and it to happen. You need humans out there who are willing and able to go pick up the shovel and do stuff and make things real. Money only takes you so far.”

Now that the vote is official, Garga said he and the ApeCo team are moving quickly to get things up and running!

“There’s a lot of work to be done immediately to set this thing up and make sure we are doing it in all tax advantage ways,” Garga said. “Its important for us to have a really savvy way of handling this treasury. Every time we spend ApeCoin, that comes out of everyone’s pocket. For the immediate, I’m looking at cutting any spends that were happening at the foundation. I’m looking at places where we feel we can make the most ROI for ApeCo, for ApeChain, for Otherside and for the club.”

 

Once ApeCo is fully operational, Garga said one of the things he’s most excited about is funding Otherside builders and giving them an unfair advantage.

 “Otherside is a virtual world, a metaverse and a platform that enables people to kind of create on top of it, and I think many of the best chains have a few different games on them with varying quality,” he said. “I think it’s a very real possibility for Otherside to have not just one or two but a dozen incredible 3D experiences… By doubling down on builders on Otherside and on ApeChain, I think we can start to get ApeChain an unfair advantage.”

 

With the DAO and its governance apparatus now gone, Garga also said he wants to explore ways to integrate the $Ape ecosystem into key BAYC experiences, like ApeFest and the highly anticipated Clubhouse in Miami, while keeping the exclusivity of the club intact.

“I’m also looking at fun ways to tie in ApeCoin and ApeChain in with some of the tentpole things that we do and that we carer about at BAYC. Whether that’s ways to loop them in with ApeFest, or plans for the clubhouse. Those are the two that are really top of mind and there are active discussions going on. We are also looking at Others as well.”

 

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to follow all things ApeCo and will let you know when the new organization officially opens for business. Stay tuned for updates!