PROPOSAL NAME:
Airdrop for Long-Term Holders and Stakers
TEAM DESCRIPTION: Posco: Lead Developer with extensive expertise in EVM contracts and a proven track record in executing secure and efficient airdrops within the blockchain ecosystem.
Professional History: Posco has significant experience in developing Ethereum-based smart contracts and has successfully managed multiple airdrop initiatives in various blockchain projects.
Contact Information: Preferred communication platform is Twitter, handle: @OvernightAudit.
PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION:
This AIP proposes an airdrop that will distribute half of the remaining ApeCoin treasury to long-term holders and stakers of $APE. This initiative is designed to reward the loyalty and commitment of the ApeCoin community members who have supported the ecosystem through extended periods. By providing these rewards, the proposal aims to further incentivize holding and staking, strengthening the communityās stability and engagement.
BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM:
Rewarding Loyalty: Recognizes and rewards the commitment of long-term holders and active stakers, enhancing their ties to the ApeCoin community.
Encouraging Long-Term Holding and Staking: Incentivizes users to hold onto their investments and participate in staking, contributing to the stability and security of the network.
Boosting Community Morale and Engagement: Airdrops are often viewed positively by the community, which can increase overall engagement and participation in governance.
Cost Justification: The airdrop will use 50% of the remaining ApeCoin treasury, aligning the distribution of these funds directly with the benefit of the community by rewarding loyal members and fostering a stronger, more engaged ecosystem.
DEFINITIONS:
Airdrop: A distribution of a cryptocurrency token or coin to numerous wallet addresses, typically based on a set of criteria established by the issuer.
Long-Term Holders: Individuals who have held ApeCoin for a predetermined period, which will be specified in the airdrop criteria.
Stakers: Members of the ApeCoin community who actively participate in staking their tokens to support network operations and governance.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT:
Criteria Definition and Snapshot:
Start Date: Month 1
End Date: Month 1
Details: Define the eligibility criteria for long-term holders and stakers, and take a snapshot of the blockchain to identify qualifying wallets. The responsibility for determining the eligibility criteria for long-term holders and stakers will lie with the smart contract developers and data analysts, in consultation with the community managers.
Costs: Minimal, covered by operational funds.
Personnel and Platforms: Blockchain analysts, Snapshot tools.
Requests to APE Foundation: None.
Smart Contract Development and Testing:
Start Date: Month 1
End Date: Month 2
Details: Develop and rigorously test the smart contracts that will handle the airdrop process. We plan to engage a third-party audit firm to review the airdrop smart contract; the details will be provided once the auditor is selected.
Costs: Minimal, covered by operational funds.
Personnel and Platforms: Smart contract developers, Ethereum testnet.
Requests to APE Foundation: None.
Community Review and Feedback:
Start Date: Month 2
End Date: Month 2
Details: Present the plan to the community, incorporating feedback to ensure transparency and address any concerns. The information will be conveyed to the community through our Discord server, official forums, and social media channels like Twitter.
Costs: Minimal, covered by operational funds.
Personnel and Platforms: Community managers, communication platforms.
Requests to APE Foundation: None.
Execution of Airdrop:
Start Date: Month 3
End Date: Month 3
Details: Launch the smart contracts to distribute the airdrop to the wallets of eligible community members.
Costs: Minimal, covered by operational funds.
Personnel and Platforms: Smart contract developers, Ethereum mainnet.
Requests to APE Foundation: None.
Post-Airdrop Review:
Start Date: Month 4
End Date: Month 4
Details: Evaluate the effectiveness of the airdrop, gathering community feedback and making adjustments for future initiatives. Future initiatives based on this proposal include potential subsequent airdrops, staking rewards programs, and other community engagement activities. These will be detailed further based on the initial airdropās effectiveness and feedback.
Costs: Minimal, covered by operational funds.
Personnel and Platforms: Community managers, data analysts.
Requests to APE Foundation: None.
Note: We have considered the issue of inactive wallets and are open to the idea of a āreverse airdropā where holders initiate a claim. This approach will be discussed further with the community to ensure consensus.
REPORTING EXPECTATIONS:
Monthly Updates: Regular progress reports will be shared with the community on a monthly basis.
Milestone Reports: Detailed reports will be provided upon reaching key milestones, such as the snapshot, smart contract deployment, and completion of the airdrop.
Final Review: A comprehensive report will be published after the post-airdrop review, summarizing the outcomes and any lessons learned.
OVERALL COST:
Total amount requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund = 50% of the remaining ApeCoin treasury.
Summary: The airdrop costs are expected to be minimal beyond the distribution of ApeCoin itself. All development and operational costs are covered by existing funds.
Additional Requests: None directed towards the APE Foundation for community discussion platforms, website, or Snapshot.
Tranches: We are open to receiving the grant in tranches to ensure transparency and accountability.
So is this just cashing out the treasury and rewarding people who may or may not have been active members of the DAO but have held and staked?
Iām not sure how a retroactive airdrop encourages long-term holding and staking without the promise of a future airdrop for doing so.
I like the concept of incentivizing activity in the DAO, utilization of ApeCoin and building on ApeChain, but I donāt think this model is the best way.
Your expertise in EVM contracts and the minimal expected costs are great. However, distributing 50% of the remaining ApeCoin treasury may pose a significant impact on the DAOās financial reservesā¦
Just from chatting with some community members who said they wanted another airdrop of $ape. Just something I thought of and a great thing to discuss imo.
Gotcha. Iād love to create more avenues (similar to ThankApe) to reward $APE holders for participating in the growth of the DAO (and with a LOT less $APE involved).
Thatās something that I think we can form a coalition around.
I get your point and actually from this AIP the goal of this proposal is to incentivize engagement and activity in the DAO as well as encourage long-term holding and staking of ApeCoin but dont you think it can also bring some negative vibes like bots and all.
AIPs requesting over 5% of the treasury are never simply sent to vote - the justifications given will not convince any of āthemā this delivers more value than it extracts and should go to vote with a 50% cost. (For many the treasury size is our greatest strength.)
You say no additional costs with creating the contracts - how so - no external audit? No bug bounty? We just trust youāve got it 100% and then hand off 50% of the treasury?
How does an airdrop āincentivise longterm holdingā? These are just words with zero substance.
This line too:
Can you elaborate on what this actually means - are you talking about holders and stakers of apecoin now? In the future with apechain? The whole of bullet point two under benefits needs elaborating on tbf.
Tl;dr - Iām not sure if this post is serious. Iām trying to be more supportive lately of people and ideas but this one just makes me mad ngl. The DAO is here to help create whatās next, and be around for decades doing so - this idea ensures neither imo.
I strongly believe that the impact of this AIP will be the opposite of the goals it has. There will likely be a massive dump, immediately, as selling immediately likely has the highest EV for anyone that receives the airdrop. It will greatly hinder the size and scope of projects the DAO can afford to take on in the future, even more so than 50% that the DAO would lose when you consider the price dump thatās likely to occur when that many tokens immediately come to market.
The APY benefits of staking $APE are already extremely generous. I donāt see how this creates any sort of meaningful new mechanism to drive positive engagement. If people want consistent $APE generating benefits, they can buy and then stake.
I witnessed a lot of the community asking for additional rewards for long term holders. I thought this AIP was a great way of leaving it to the community to test where they would vote.
Donāt you think 50% is a bit much? Why not offer a variety of choices, which includes an option for no airdrop, to actually see what the community wants? This would be unbelievably harmful to the ecosystem if it were to pass, IMO.
Wouldnāt having a tiered vote not currently be possible. If it is then that is a great idea. I picked a number I saw a lot of people on Twitter were talking about. In my opinion 50% would be a great way to see what the community votes for. Please @12GAUGE.Admin are we able to do a multiple choice vote on snapshot?
I appreciate the effort in putting this out, but I donāt think this is a good idea.
Weāre on the cusp of the launch of ApeChain which will give the community a platform to use the Treasury to build out real utility for ApeCoin. When thatās successfully launched and has continuous growth, it will create a massive amount of new demand for ApeCoin as new community members buy ApeCoin to enjoy the ātheme parkā that ApeChain will be.
If we focus on releasing new supply from the Treasury for projects that will lead to more demand increase for ApeCoin than the amount of supply released in the commercial agreement, the entire DAO will become sustainable in the long-run.
Unfortunately, I think this proposal would do the oppositeā¦release a ton of supply without adding any utility that increases broad demand for ApeCoin ownership.
Hereās an alternative idea to be iterated on that I think can actually make a difference:
This AIP proposal, by design, will bring precisely 0 new participants into the $APE ecosystem as it strictly rewards those who are already involved. I see zero benefit in this.
Instead, create a fund which is set aside to reward builders which adapt $APE and create usage. Set aside something like 10% of the DAOās funds to create a sizeable pool of money. Set a timeline that gives builders enough time to build something meaningful, perhaps a year. Then at the end of the time period, or at set milestones during the time period, reward these builders with $APE airdrops based on the TVL of $APE usage they generate.
At least that gives $APE a shot at generating new users, which is critical, and will hopefully provide some real-world use cases for the coins. It would be a no-brainer for devs who are already building a service to simply incorporate $APE into what theyāre doing in return for the stimmy the DAO would eventually provide if they were to be successful. It also incentivizes builders to focus on $APE to increase the TVL, thus increasing their total potential reward. If a builder were to capture 10% of this TVL, that reward could be significant.
Think about scale. Itās all about scale of impact. We must move away from centralization and continuing to focus on the small amount of current participants. $APE cannot thrive with that philosophy.
