Proposal: Name a newly discovered species of frog after a Noun

I have been informed of an opportunity to name a species of glass frog newly discovered in the Dracula nature reserve in Ecuador. The EcoMinga Foundation (EcoMinga Foundation) is raising funds alongside its partner Rainforest Trust (www.rainforesttrust.org) in exchange for the right to name this glass frog.

I’d like to propose that NounsDAO purchase the right to name the frog Hyalinobatrachium nouns, or Nouns Glassfrog in plain English. As far as I know, naming a species would be a first for the crypto and NFT community. Frogs have memetic value in the NFT community, making this species an appropriate choice for naming. Not only would this story be likely to get picked up by the press and social media, but the money goes to the cause of protecting biodiversity and rainforests.

The minimum cost of the naming right is 12.5 ETH (at today’s ETH price of 4000). However since this cause is important to 4156 and many of us, I suggest purchasing the naming rights for 25 ETH.

The breakdown of the use of funds would be roughly the following, subject to discussions with the non-profits:
55% to Ecominga for operating and protecting the reserve
5% to scientific publishing and discovery of new species
40% to Rainforest Trust’s Climate Action Fund, which funds protection of rainforest to sequester carbon

Full disclosure - I am a board member of Rainforest Trust, which was how I heard of this opportunity. It’s a non-profit so I don’t get paid as a board member, nor do I get any benefit, monetary or otherwise, from NounsDao acquiring the naming rights to this frog. If anyone has objections around conflict of interest, we can adjust the percentage going to Rainforest Trust to a level that makes everyone comfortable.

Picture of the frog below…it’s a beauty.

manduriacu_JMG_0612_JV_dl1920×1394 93.9 KB

Wholeheartedly support. Not just a good cause, but a very clever use of funds that has the potential to generate a lot of positive publicity. I also can’t think of a better animal than a frog, given its memetic potency.

I love this.

What if Hyalinobatrachium noun #33 after Froger, the 33rd noun? only half kidding

Is there an auction/bidding mechanism at play such that paying the 12.5 ETH is less likely to secure the naming rights? Or do you suggest 25 ETH as more of a donation on top of the rights?

Regardless, this is an awesome and super unique idea that I’m totally here for

Great idea. +1 for Noun32’s question.

There isn’t an auction or bidding process. I was quoted a flat price of 12.5 ETH. If I had been asked how much it cost before being given the price, I would have guessed something in the low six fig $ range. I have seen naming rights get sold for a lot more. So we COULD purchase it for as low as 12.5 ETH if we wanted to, but there are a few good reasons to buy it for 25 ETH as a donation -

1. Next time the naming rights for a species comes up, we will be their first call. I can see a world where multiple species get named after Nouns. Species naming is forever so Nouns will exist forever in the naming of these species!
2. A higher price will discourage copycat species naming from frivolous projects and under-capitalized DAOs. If everyone in the community saw this only cost us 12.5 ETH, they might start scrambling to figure out how they can name a species as well.
3. It’s simply a good cause.

i think it’s a beautiful proposal. imho the only question is whether 12.5 eth or 25 eth is more appropriate, and given our (probable) mission, the current state of the world, the current state of our treasury, and the reported capital efficiency of the org, i think it makes sense to go with 25 eth. would personally be in favor of getting this on-chain asap

Glad to hear all the support. I wanted to add that in order to get this done, we need to donate using USD wire transfer. Since we don’t have a bank account or legal entity yet, Option 1 could be to transfer the ETH to a trusted individual in NounsDAO and have that person make the donation. Option 2 - I’m happy to front the USD and make the donation, and after it goes through, get reimbursed by NounsDAO with ETH. We just need to fix the price of ETH when the votes are counted so we know how much that is in USD.

we’re still 1-2 months from having fiat infrastructure at the Nouns DAO level, so personally in favor of option 2 (so long as you’re comfortable with the risk)