Gm ApeCoin family,
On behalf of the Thank APE board and ThriveCoin team, I’m sharing an update on our accepted AIP-124.
Thank APE leverages ThriveCoin and the Thrive Protocol to reward ApeCoin members with a total of 200,000 APE for valuable contributions to the DAO. We do it in a way that is automated, scalable, and on-chain.
Join us in Season 3 and beyond:
- Website: thankape.com
- Twitter: Thank Ape
- ApeCoin Discord: ApeCoin
- ThriveCoin Discord: ThriveCoin
Pre-Thank APE Era
Before the Thank APE proposal passed, ApeCoin DAO struggled to realize its vast potential. We were one of the world’s most visible DAOs, yet we had ~ 70 to 80 active monthly Forum (Discourse) and Discord members, the only places where ApeCoin was measuring contribution activity.
Additionally, contributions across web3, web2, and IRL weren’t easily measurable, and often went unrecognized. In fact, only a handful of total contributors ~1% of lifetime contributors on the Forum (Discourse) and Discord - received any reward for their efforts.
Thank APE Season 1 (2/24/23 - 5/2/23):
With the introduction of Thank APE Season 1 from February to April (alongside other important governance initiatives like WG0 + a revitalized foundation board), we helped drive a seismic shift in the community engagement landscape:
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The number of measurable active contributors dramatically spiked to 595 (ThriveCoin).
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We recorded on-chain a total of 1,758 measured contributions. This was a huge leap from mostly unknown, untracked, and off-chain contribution data.
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We auto-validated, auto-rewarded, and auto-recorded on-chain 30+ unique contribution types across web3, web2, and IRL.
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We launched collaborations with approved DAO infrastructure, including Karma, Catapult, and Boring Security.
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Season 1’s Moonshot event, the AIP-a-thon, produced over 40 governance proposals from various community members, including many first-time AIP authors.
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Our work helped 2x Discourse Forum daily user visits and 3x daily active users, leading to a more active and engaged community.
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16,750 APE was distributed to the community for their wide variety of contributions.
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5,808 APE was donated by the community to Riley’s Children’s Hospital (Twitter link).
Thank APE Season 2 (5/2/23 - 7/6/23):
Season 2 built on the momentum of Season 1 and stepped it up another level:
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Measurable active contributors increased from 595 to 1,297 (ThriveCoin), a 118% increase over Season 1 (and ~5x our stated Milestone goal of 10% monthly growth of core DAO engagement metrics!)
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We recorded 3,951 measured contributions, a 125% increase over Season 1.
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We awarded 36,645 APE to the community.
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We supported 50+ simultaneous unique contributions across web3, web2, and IRL.
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We had special time-bound contributions each week throughout the Season.
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We introduced new collaborations with ApeCoin DAO partner, Ledger, for the Quest to mint a Proof of Knowledge NFT, in addition to maintaining existing collaborations.
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The “Ape In” Art contest served as the Moonshot event for Season 2. It rallied the artistic prowess of the community, rewarding over 100 artists for their captivating artworks. The contest not only added a creative dimension to community engagement but also drove more than 4,500 Twitter shares and over one million Twitter engagements with ApeCoin-inspired art. The Art Contest entries were widely reused & shared to show ApeCoin support, and even spawned an AIP from one of the artists! This outpouring of community attention and support amplified the visibility and reach of ApeCoin as a leader driving culture in the space.
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We have been highlighted as a model initiative passed by ApeCoin DAO across the space, including on Twitter Spaces with ApeCoin, ApeCoin Special Council members, Ladies of BAYC, ApeComms, the Grateful Show, Mocaverse, Leap, Mutant Hounds, and more.
Just a few of our amazing Art Contest Finalists:
Thank APE Learning
Thank APE is designed to act as an evolutionary system - a learning system.
As the tech gets more feedback, it can adapt to ensure we are rewarding the right people and contributions. And as the board gets more feedback, they can adapt to ensure optimal levels of value are being driven + we are inhibiting bots and bad actors.
Our learning and evolving was on display in the first two Seasons of Thank APE. The vast majority of attempts to misuse or farm ApeCoin were addressed - with active intervention from the board and layers of protection provided by the tech.
Still, we weren’t perfect - nor were we designed to be. But we were constantly improving - by design. One area of learning we didn’t expect - for example - is the negative impact of the perception of farming.
As expected, many people attempted to farm rewards across Discord, Discourse Forums, and Twitter. This activity was generally addressed with active intervention and bot and bad actor protection. These people, on balance, wasted their time and money.
But attempted-farmers still clogged up our Thank APE channel in Discord, created fake user accounts on Discourse, and made fake Twitter contributions. While we technically stopped most of their bad behavior, the attempts were still distracting, and made some people feel there was a bigger problem at hand.
We are continuing to work on improving this experience for Season 3 - in addition to continued tech innovation, the board is removing and replacing contribution types that people were attempting to farm (largely unsuccessfully).
As new learning comes up, we are excited to address it too. In tech - especially web3 - it’s never about perfect. But if we learn, and use that learning to push ourselves to be better than the last time… then we feel confident we’re on the right track!
Thank APE: Looking Ahead
We’re excited to continue leveling up our impact in Thank APE Season 3 and beyond. Every month… every Season… we want to create more impact than ever. We very much still feel like we’re just getting started!
We will share more about our planning, progress, and continued learning in comments attached to this post.
Additionally, we look forward to continuing to collaborate with other movers and shakers across the DAO - including with DAO Stewards, Working Groups, the Ape Assembly, and passed AIPs. It’s a community effort. Together we will create immense value!
Thank APE: We’d love to hear from you
We would love for you to share your work in ApeCoin DAO that was created in connection with Thank Ape, and any memories or community shoutouts you’d like to share!
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