Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,
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@staypuft has responded to our questions and has provided consent to share them in this forum for the community.
1. What are the expectations of the Ape Foundation in regards to the ongoing partnership, preparation of the ICANN application, and any of the other steps of the AIP implementation? Please specify the steps and elaborate on the expectations of the Foundation for each step.
Agreement confirming Ape Foundation’s representation of the ApeCoin community, brand, and trademark, and exclusivity for D3 to act on behalf of Ape Foundation, through ApeCoin DAO, to apply for the .APE top-level domain.
2. Would the Foundation be expected to maintain custody of any newly created assets on behalf of the ApeCoin DAO community?
Name tokens are tokenized, and holders will be able to self-custody from the D3 once created, if desired.
3. Please elaborate on your expectations for the future ownership of any content that may be produced as a result of this proposal. Clarify your expectations for any ApeCoin trademark requests.
There will be extensive co-marketing campaigns, and the ApeCoin DAO will be consulted and given access to content calendars and other marketing and branding materials for approval where the brand, its imagery and trademarks are mentioned or displayed.
4. Please verify your status as “accredited TLD registry operators.”
Our affiliate company, Internet Naming Co. is wholly owned by our co-founder Shayan Rostam. Internet Naming Co. is the ICANN-accredited registry operator of .click, .country, .diy, .food, .hiv, .lifestyle, .living, .realty, .vana, and more, as verified on the ICANN and IANA websites:
.click Registry Agreement
.realty Registry Agreement
.diy Domain Delegation Data
.food Domain Delegation Data
We are in the process of expanding a registry assignment for our newly-formed D3 entity. We expect this to be completed in 30-45 days.
5. Please revise your Steps to Implement and Timeline section. The AIP Draft template sets the expectation for these sections to be formatted into a single section. Our suggestion would be to simply adjust the headline title to the expected title “Steps to Implement and Timeline”, and adjust the font for the section currently labelled Timeline so that it would not be viewed as a separate section. We can help with this.
You may update the section title as suggested.
6. Please include a Platforms and Technology section. As specified by the AIP Draft Template, this would include a detailed breakdown of the platforms and technologies that are to be used.
D3’s registry and registrar will require DNS and database infrastructure, along with software to facilitate domain management workflows and integration with each other:
Registry Scope:
- Compliant registry backend system
- Maintain DNS servers and zone file access
- Pricing and registration data services
- Escrow and data protection
- Monitor operations and generate abuse reports
- Ongoing ICANN compliance requirements
Registry Technologies:
- DNS servers
- Database
- Provisioning system
- Monitoring and reporting tools
- Security and cloud protection
Registrar Scope:
- Provide registrar website and console
- Manage customer and domain registration data
- Integrate with registry system
- Facilitate customer payments
- Ongoing ICANN compliance requirements
Registrar Technologies:
- Servers and database
- Protocol client software
- Web frameworks and payment gateway
- DNS integration
- Blockchain integrations
7. The image under your Motivation section mentions “profit sharing”. In alignment with the rest of your proposal, can you revise the graphic to indicate “revenue share”?
We can provide an updated image, attached.
8. Would the application for “the real .APE TLD” be submitted as a Generic TLD or Sponsored TLD?
.APE would be a generic TLD, just like .XYZ or .APP. Sponsored TLDs are a category of generic TLD. Due to the public nature of this review process, and the high stakes and sizable investment involved in acquiring a TLD, we prefer to keep our acquisition strategy confidential at this time.
9. Will D3 be transferring ownership of the .APE asset to the ApeCoin DAO if awarded the TLD?
It is not possible for any entity or individual to “own” a TLD. ICANN contractually grants the rights to exclusively operate and monetize each TLD that automatically renews every 10 years. This is true of every ICANN-accredited gTLD, including .com and .xyz. In order for the ApeCoin DAO to take advantage of the benefits the D3 team offers as an existing ICANN-accredited registry operator (e.g. expedited application and minimal diligence on the DAO and the Foundation), D3 must be the TLD applicant and contracted registry operator with ICANN. This also means that D3 will take on the onerous ongoing registry obligations (e.g. annual audits, compliance, etc) to ensure .APE remains in good standing. D3 acts as essentially the white-glove and full-service operator for .APE. ApeCoin DAO and the Foundation will maintain a vested interest and voice in all TLD operations, including pricing strategy, launch timeline, whitelists and blacklists, and more. Should the Foundation desire to create its own entity and maintain the complex ongoing registry obligations, D3 will be happy to facilitate the transfer for the .APE TLD once approved.
10. “D3 will pledge 50% of all net revenues generated back to the ApeCoin DAO.”
a. Is there an expected schedule for the distribution of this revenue back to the DAO treasury?
This is flexible, however we typically recommend disbursements on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.
b. Do you propose revenues to be returned to the DAO treasury in the form of $APE, or an alternative token?
The DAO can opt to receive revenue in fiat (USD) or a dedicated stablecoin (USDT or USDC).
11. The “Key Assumptions” portion beneath your “Illustrative Revenue Projection” chart mentions an “Initial ramp of 10% of ~130K APE wallet holders purchasing domains, growing yearly,” yet the Year 1 chart figure illustrates 13K wallets, growing yearly up to 90k wallets in Year 4. Please clarify these figures.
As outlined in the ‘Illustrative Revenue Projection’ imagery, 10% of 130,000 is the 13,000. These figures are expected to grow to include Web3 users outside of the ApeCoin community and eventually Web2 once the TLD is launched.
12. “Members of the ApeCoin community will have the exclusive opportunity to gain early access to other APE name tokens before they are made available to the public.”
a. How would the community be informed of this opportunity?
There will be a pre-launch phase where the community will be informed through thorough marketing initiatives, communication from community stakeholders as well as the official ApeCoin channels to maximize exposure to the ApeCoin community.
b. What are the eligibility requirements to participate?
In order for a user to be eligible for the exclusive early access phase, they will need to hold either $APE, a BAYC or MAYC NFT.
c. What would the process to access these name tokens look like?
*Users will need to create an account on D3 where they will be able to search for and register any available APE name they are interested in.
4. If web3 wallet connectivity is required, what are the plans for security audits of the platform?
We are currently integrated with MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Thirdweb, which collectively support more than 170 wallets. We will continue to add additional integrations which expand the security and accessibility of the TLD.
13. “In the highly unlikely event that D3 does not successfully acquire the right to operate .APE, owners of Ape Names at the time of notice will be eligible for a full refund on the primary registration fee associated with each token.” Please elaborate.
Users who hold the name token at the time of notice will be eligible for a refund on the initial registration fee at the first point of sale for the name. For example, if User A purchases hello [star] ape for 10 USDC, trades it to User B, User B will be eligible for the refund of 10 USDC at the time of notice. We conduct the necessary KYT (Know your transaction) and KYC (Know your customer) operations on any monetary flows through our platform to maintain the proper compliance as a registry.
14. Are you requesting the entirety of funding up front, or are you willing to accept fund disbursement in tranches if your proposal is approved?
We’re requesting an upfront commitment by ApeCoin DAO to enable us to plan large scale, wide global activation of the name token sale while concurrently initiating the ICANN application process with our staff and legal which requires more than 12 months of preparation (500+ page application), and initiate IRL activations which often require deposits.
15. Your Overall Cost section gives an overview of your “estimated budget”.
Please update your Overall Cost section to specify the exact grant request.
Please update to Allocated Funds, and add footnote: “Any remaining excess funds will be directed towards revenue-generating activities including performance-based marketing and sales.”
16. As per the ApeCoin General Guidelines, “proposals will not be put up for vote if they involve illegal activity, hate speech, pornographic material, or are at odds with the mission or values of the APE Foundation.” Can you ensure that the content of the domain names and the name tokens will be in keeping with these guidelines?
Yes. Our standard Acceptable Use Policies already prohibit illegal activity, hate speech, domain abuse, etc. We are also able to work with members of the ApeCoin community to add tailored policies for [star]APE and .APE, including but not limited to prohibiting content that is pornographic or violates the mission or values of the APE Foundation.
17. Do you provide consent to apply updates to the relevant areas of your proposal based on your responses to the questions above?
Yes, I consent to making the necessary updates as requested.
18. Do you provide consent to share these questions and answers with the community in this forum?
Yes, I consent to sharing these questions and answers with the ApeCoin community on the forum.
A DAR package is being worked on and upon completion this AIP will move into Administrative Review. Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments.
Kind Regards,
-@Facilitators
