Q&A: Badteeth Spoke With The Gazette AboutAIP-196. Find Out More

The ApeCoin DAO is currently voting on an Ape Improvement Proposal that offers a path forward for the DAO after the Cartan Group’s proposal to renew its administrative contract with the DAO was rejected last month.

Following the community’s rejection of the Cartan Group’s proposal,, a group of 25 $Ape holders came together to write AIP-196, titled “BORED AIP: Bringing Order and Reliability via Ecosystem Decentralization.” In this proposal, the authors lay out a plan for the DAO going into 2023.

“The expiration of the APE Foundation’s administrator contract for the second time in 2022 has magnified the need to develop internal capabilities and avoid reliance on any external resource that could result in a single point of failure in the DAO,” AIP-196’s lead author Badteeth wrote. “This AIP represents progress over perfection – the only thing possible in this messy and amazing world of decentralized governance we love.”

In AIP-196, Badteeth and the other authors lay out three key problems that the DAO is currently facing after the Cartan Group’s contract renewal was rejected.

“The Problem: 1. Per AIP-113, the current APE Foundation administrator contract expires December 31, 2022,” Badteeth wrote. “2. There is an imperative need to maintain continuity and compliance of APE Foundation operations.3. ApeCoin DAO does not currently have the organizational structure or capabilities to execute any internal operations.”

After Badteeth laid out the problems that the DAO is facing, he and the other authors offered a three-part solution that the community will vote to either accept or reject this week.

“The Solution: 1. Extend contract with current APE Foundation administrator (Cartan Group, LLC.) two months to maintain continuity and compliance,” Badteeth wrote. “2. Implement a transparent Request for Proposals (“RFP”) process to identify future APE Foundation administrators during the extension period (January 1 - February 28, 2022). If necessary, complete handover to future DAO administrator. 3. Form interim working group composed of key DAO stakeholders tasked with developing DAO working group structures and internal capabilities.”

In total, Badteeth and his co-authors are asking the DAO to allocate $361,898 USD over the next three months to AIP-196. Take a look at the AIP’s cost breakdown below:

To find out more about AIP-196 and what its passing, or failing would mean for the DAO, the Bored Ape Gazette reached out to Badteeth for an interview. See what he had to say below:

Can you briefly explain this AIP.

“Their (Cartan Group’s ) contract is expiring, we need to maintain continuity and compliance, and we don’t have any structure to execute any internal operations. Those are the challenges that we are trying to solve for. And to do that we are going to extend Cartan’s contract for two months at a reduced rate, we are going to implement the RFP process to figure out who the next administrator is going to be, and we are going to form this interim working group that can talk about what structures we need to put forth for the DAO. And this is an important distinction, the working group isn’t putting anything in place. The working group is merely getting stakeholders together to talk about what the best solutions are and then the working group is going to propose these solutions as an AIP and dissolve. This is literally a three-month interim solution to figure out how to get through this transition and propose structure; not create structure.”

What is an RFP?

“An RFP (Request For Proposal) is a typical business term for when you're saying; hey we have a need to fill. This is the need. Tell us how you will fill that, how much it will cost, and why you will be good at it. It’s a chance for companies to show why they should be hired essentially.”

Could Cartan Group submit a proposal to this RFP?

“Yes. There’s nothing preventing Cartan from submitting to that process.”

Will the ApeCoin DAO at large get to see the proposals that are submitted to the RFP process?

“I know we can share that amongst the working group for sure and I would assume that we can share that amongst the community."

Who will select which proposal from the RFP the DAO accepts under AIP-196?

“The Special Council will probably have to make the call on the RFP because we don’t have time to run another proposal through. But that will be in full sight of the Working Group, which should be around three or four hundred members. The working Group will have full oversight on the RFP process, but the Special Council will probably make the decision though.”

What happens if this doesn’t pass?

“If this doesn’t pass then essentially the Special Council will be tasked with trying to figure out how to manage this transition. That will absolutely include an extension for Cartan because they can’t risk breaking continuity and compliance. This (AIP) gives us a structure to build from. Without this we have no structure, and we are put in a very chaotic time for the new Special Council and instead of them being able to capitalize on this momentum that we have built, they will be fighting fires trying to figure out how to get through this transition.”

The Window to vote on AIP-196 closes tomorrow night at 9 P.M. EST. The Bored Ape Gazette highly encourages all $Ape holders to read the full proposal and vote!