TO DAO OR NOT TO DAO: $Ape Holders Head To The Polls To Vote On Yuga Labs CEO Garga’s Proposal To Shut Down The DAO And Launch A New Entity Called ApeCo!

To DAO or not to DAO, that is the question $Ape holders are asking themselves tonight as the polls open for what could be the final vote at the ApeCoin DAO.

Things are anything but boring in the ApeChain ecosystem this evening as $Apes and Apes begin casting their coins on Ape Improvement Proposal 596, titled “Sunsetting the DAO and Launching ApeCo — A New Operating Model for ApeCoin,” written by Yuga Labs CEO Garga.

 

“This proposal recommends a bold and necessary evolution of the ApeCoin ecosystem: the wind-down of the ApeCoin DAO,” Garga wrote. “While the DAO was instrumental in bootstrapping ApeCoin’s early momentum, it has become misaligned with the future we must build. The next chapter demands sharper focus, faster execution, and an operating model that backs only the highest-caliber projects. This AIP authorizes the orderly transition of assets and responsibilities to ApeCo, a new entity established by Yuga Labs. ApeCo’s mission will be to supercharge the APE ecosystem by supporting high-quality builders and reinforcing three core pillars: ApeChain, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Otherside.”

 

If passed, Garga’s sunsetting proposal would end the DAO’s governance system, meaning no more AIP votes or Special Council elections. It would also override all previously passed AIPs, and transfer the DAO’s assets to ApeCo, a new organization led by ApeCoin CEO Cameron Kates and other members of the Banana Bill and Ape Foundation teams. The AIP would also hold back 10 million $Ape  for legal and contractual obligations, and would ensure that the DAO’s existing staking protocol will continue as planned, finishing its final year of rewards, which are scheduled to end in March 2026.

If the community votes against Garga’s proposal, things will continue as written under AIP-582, with on chain voting rolling out soon and this summer’s ApeCoin Special Council elections proceeding as previously planned.

“The DAO served its purpose, but the game has changed,” Garga wrote. “We’re no longer in the experimental phase. We’re building the best chain in crypto and expanding the most iconic brand in NFTs. ApeCoin should be the economic engine for that future.”

 

As the Bored Ape Gazette previously reported, Ape Foundation CEO Cameron Kates recently announced that Garga’s AIP “must receive 69% of all votes, with no less than 3.5% of all votable tokens either in favor or abstaining” in order to pass.

 

 

The window to vote on Garga’s AIP is open now. Everyone is invited to read the full proposal and cast their coins between now and Wednesday, June 25th at 9 P.M. EST, here:https://snapshot.box/#/s:apecoin.eth/proposal/0xba325d875890e66e8410616675916c7ab641e1ff096e9fd8664b5423960a974c

 

 

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to bring you updates and insights over the next two weeks on this potentially DAO ending AIP and will keep you informed on how the community votes. Stay tuned for updates!