Yuga Labs Proposes Replacing ApeCoin DAO With ApeCo Amid Governance Failures

Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, has proposed shutting down the struggling ApeCoin DAO and replacing it with a new, streamlined organization called ApeCo. The move is intended to refocus the Ethereum-based ApeCoin project on development and ecosystem growth, after what Yuga describes as years of ineffective governance.

“ApeCoin DAO was a bold experiment, but one born of a different era,” wrote Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano in a proposal published Thursday. “What started with promise has devolved into sluggish, noisy, and often unserious governance theater.”

Formed in 2022, the ApeCoin DAO was designed as a decentralized, community-led body to manage ApeCoin’s development. While technically separate from Yuga Labs, it was closely tied to the company’s NFT brands and blockchain initiatives. But critics argue that the DAO quickly lost its way—slowed by infighting, inefficiency, and what some call “unserious” participation.

Yuga’s new plan would dissolve the DAO entirely, along with its voting mechanisms, working groups, and past governance proposals. In its place, ApeCo would be formed as a new operational entity tasked with supporting builders in the ApeCoin ecosystem. The proposal outlines a milestone-based funding system aimed at increasing accountability and aligning incentives around three core pillars: ApeChain, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Otherside.

Community reactions to the proposal have been largely supportive. A widely shared comment from user @OGDfarmer summed up the frustrations: “[The DAO] has been nothing but a joke… pillaged and slow and inefficient and overpoliticized since inception. It’s clear that [Solano’s] Yuga would be better stewards.”

The current forum vote is intended to measure sentiment, not to formally authorize the change. However, if the plan moves forward, it would mark a complete break from the DAO experiment—ending all token holder governance rights and cancelling all previously approved ApeCoin Improvement Proposals (AIPs).

The timing of this shift comes as Yuga Labs appears to be refocusing its energy. The company recently offloaded several high-profile NFT projects, including Moonbirds, CryptoPunks, and Meebits, in what looks like a consolidation strategy around its original offerings.

Meanwhile, ApeCoin’s market performance has mirrored the DAO’s struggles. The token is currently trading around $0.70—down nearly 50% over the past year and down 97% from its all-time high of $26.