ApeCoin’s Proposed Bug Bounty Program Could Delay Staking Till December

The ApeCoin DAO is pondering whether to delay the rollout of delay APE staking to create space for a bug bounty program. The move, proposed by Special Council Member Maaria Bajwa on ApeCoin’s governance forum, aims to add “an additional layer of security and decreases the risk to APE holders and the DAO.”

Special Council Member Proposes Bug Bounty Program of 2-4 Weeks to Improve Security

ApeCoin DAO is considering postponing APE staking to allow for a bug bounty program and ensure staking completes in a safe manner. The delay would allocate 1 million APE ($4.5 million) to potential bounties and last for 2 to 4 weeks, according to Maaria Bajwa, Special Council Member at ApeCoin DAO who made the proposal.

“ApeCoin staking is going live soon, and though the contract has already been through at least one audit, it is prudent for the DAO to implement a bounty program prior to going live. Few weeks delay is a small price for safety.”

– Maaria Bajwa, Special Council Member

The delay would be relatively short considering that bounty programs sometimes last for several months. Bajwa said the delay would provide enough time to identify vulnerabilities “while still allowing staking to go live in a timely manner.” If no bugs are spotted, staking would launch right after the program, she added.

Bajwa Highlights the Importance of Security, Cites Recent Crypto Hacks

Originally, ApeCoin’s staking system was scheduled to launch on October 31, according to Horizen Labs’ announcement. This means that a bug bounty program could potentially delay the staking launch until December 2022.

Bajwa apologized on Twitter for the timing of her proposition, given that it is less than two weeks left before the staking system goes live. However, Bajwa emphasized the importance of the smart contract’s security, knowing how many hacks and exploits occurred in the past year. Earlier this month, Binance halted transactions due to a potential $600 million exploit.

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“I know I’m an asshole on timing but given how many hacks there have been recently it feels prudent to run a short bug bounty program before @apecoin staking. Audits aren’t perfect. Neither are bug bounties, but both are better than nothing.”

Bajwa added on Twitter.

Last month, 25 million APE coins were unlocked for creators, which accounts for roughly 8% of the token’s circulating supply. The release represents a part of ApeCoin’s predetermined unlock schedule, which ultimately aims to boost APE supply to 1 billion tokens.

Do you agree with Bajwa’s proposal of a bug bounty program to ensure staking goes live in a safe manner? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.