AIP Idea: Amendment to Phase 2 Governance Language

Active Proposals AIP Ideas
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AIP Idea: Amendment to Phase 2 Governance Language

Authors

Ernest Lee – [@ernestlee]
Aaron Haber – [@aaronhaber]
Partners at Bored Counsel

Proposal Summary

This AIP proposes a targeted amendment to the AIP-582 governance framework to clarify and limit the Ape Foundation’s discretion in Phase 2 (KYC and Contract Negotiation) of the AIP lifecycle.

Specifically, it codifies that the Ape Foundation must execute community-approved proposals unless:

  1. Execution would violate applicable law;
  2. Execution would subject the Ape Foundation or the ApeCoin DAO to legal or regulatory risk; and/or
  3. The proposer fails to meet clear, pre-defined published standards.

This AIP also requires that the Ape Foundation publicly publish its reasoning for any administrative action that blocks a proposal that has passed Phase 1 Temperature Check from moving forward to Phase 3, ensuring transparency and accountability to the DAO.

Motivation

The implementation of AIP-582 marked a meaningful step toward the promise of on-chain governance. However, the Phase 2 contract negotiation process unintentionally reintroduced administrative gatekeeping—a pattern previously criticized under the now-superseded “Administrative Review.”

Currently, the Ape Foundation may refuse to enter into agreement with an AIP author or fail to move a proposal forward to Phase 3 without any public explanation. This de facto veto power undermines governance legitimacy, increases centralization risk, and exposes both the Foundation and the DAO to potential regulatory scrutiny.

This AIP restores procedural balance and enforces the DAO’s intent by requiring clear standards and public disclosures.

Benefit to the ApeCoin Ecosystem

This proposal will:

  • Reinforce decentralization and trust in DAO governance
  • Prevent arbitrary or opaque administrative vetoes
  • Establish neutral legal thresholds to protect the Ape Foundation
  • Minimize regulatory risk related to perceived centralization
  • Encourage broader participation from proposers and contributors

Steps to Implement

I. Amendment to Phase 2 Governance Language:

Replace existing language with:

Phase 2: KYC and Contract Negotiations (0–14 Days)
During this phase, if applicable, the Ape Foundation will oversee administrative tasks including Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications and good faith contract negotiations.

If a proposal requires contractual implementation, the Ape Foundation shall execute any required agreement upon successful Phase 1 Temperature Check, unless:

· (a) the proposer fails to complete the standard agreement process approved by the DAO and published in advance; or

· (b) execution would subject the ApeCoin DAO or the Ape Foundation to legal or regulatory risk, including but not limited to breaches of fiduciary duty, AML, or KYC requirements.

An AIP shall be moved to Phase 3 as soon as practical unless one of the exceptions above applies.

The Ape Foundation must publish a written justification for any decision not to move a proposal to Phase 3, posted to the ApeCoin Forum no later than the close of the 14-day Phase 2 period.

II. Implementation Tasks

  • The Ape Foundation shall publish a model agreement and execution checklist to the ApeCoin Forum, subject to update by future AIPs
  • AIP authors must either accept these terms or submit proposed redlines during Phase 2
  • If the Ape Foundation declines to proceed, it must publish a detailed explanation to the ApeCoin Forum within 10 business days

Definitions

  • AIP: Ape Improvement Proposal — a formal submission proposing changes to DAO governance, infrastructure, or treasury allocations
  • ApeCoin Forum: The official governance forum where proposals are discussed before moving to Snapshot/on-chain vote
  • Phase 2: The governance lifecycle stage for legal review, KYC, and contract negotiation
  • Phase 3: The formal on-chain submission of a proposal using the governance contracts on ApeChain
  • Special Council: The five-member elected body overseeing operations as defined in AIP-1 and AIP-582
  • Security Council: An 11-member multisig entity responsible for executing DAO transactions and safeguarding protocol integrity

Reporting Expectations

  • Within 30 days: The Ape Foundation shall publish the model agreement and execution checklist
  • Ongoing: All Phase 2 administrative actions, including any reasoning for any rejections or delays, must be posted publicly on the ApeCoin Forum

Total Amount Requested from the ApeCoin Ecosystem Fund

$0
This is a governance amendment proposal. No funding is requested.

Additional Requests (Non-Financial)

  • The Ape Foundation to post the model agreement and checklist to the ApeCoin Forum
  • The Special Council to monitor and support enforcement of the 14-day Phase 2 limit
2

Just one thing, there was a 3 month non compete clause to avoid wastage of resources (APE) in previous Governance Guidelines. It would be useful to have this explicitly stated in the updated Governance Rules.

1 Like
3

I support! This makes a lot of sense for ApeCoin DAO governance

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4

Agreed. AIP-582 passed more than 3 months ago and all changes to the Constitution contained therein have been implemented for more than 3 months now. That said, it would be good to clearly define this requirement in the updated Governance Rules.

2 Likes