BOOM DAO’s reported transition to a project called CHAI has drawn criticism within the Internet Computer community, with questions being raised about the project’s previous funding, identity and future direction.
A post circulating on X points to the BOOM DAO SNS and claims that the project received 408,984 ICP through 731 participants before adopting the CHAI name. The post questions whether the change represents a rebranding of the existing project rather than the creation of a new SNS.
The Internet Computer dashboard confirms that the SNS canister associated with the project is xjngq-yaaaa-aaaaq-aabha-cai, and current dashboard records identify the root as CHAI.
The same SNS has a history under the BOOM DAO name. Earlier governance proposals show the DAO funding gaming-related initiatives, including a 2024 proposal that transferred 862.07 ICP from the BOOM DAO treasury to Elementum for a game development milestone. The proposal described BOOM DAO as a gaming-focused project and listed planned games including Pop off Gallery, Falling Crypto Sky and The Tumble.
Other governance records show BOOM DAO proposals covering activities such as liquidity provision for the BOOM token on Sonic DEX.
The criticism now centres on the reported shift from that gaming focus towards CHAI, which has been described in the circulating post as a “collective of creatives building AIware in stealth”. The post argues that the continued use of the BOOM token raises questions about how the project’s previous history should be viewed alongside its new positioning.
The comparison with Caffeine made in the X post is an opinion expressed by the author rather than an independently established fact. There is also no evidence in the material reviewed that establishes that CHAI is a copy of Caffeine.
The project’s governance infrastructure, however, does show that the underlying SNS has continued to operate and receive proposals. A recent proposal identified the canister as the BOOM DAO SNS while describing an upgrade to its SNS components.
The rebranding therefore raises a practical question for SNS participants and potential contributors: how the project’s previous activities, treasury history and governance record relate to its current direction.
For anyone considering participation, the publicly available SNS governance record provides a way to examine previous proposals, treasury transfers and project decisions rather than relying solely on the project’s current branding.
The criticism circulating on X is likely to add further attention to the project’s transition as the community assesses what has changed, what remains from the BOOM DAO structure and how the CHAI project intends to use the existing SNS.
Community Discussion