---
eip: 9000
title: Grant CROPS Builders (Protocol Guild Members) Transfer Rights Over Milady Maker Tokens
author: CROPSdev (@cropsdev)
discussions-to: self
status: Draft
type: Irregular State Transition
category: Core
created: 2026-03-26
---

## Simple Summary
This document proposes to modify the contract code of the Milady Maker NFT
contract at `0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5` via an irregular state
transition so that any address listed as a beneficiary of the Protocol Guild
split contract may transfer any Milady Maker token, regardless of current
ownership.

## Abstract
The [Milady Maker](https://etherscan.io/address/0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5#code)
contract is an ERC-721 NFT collection deployed on Ethereum mainnet. This
proposal suggests replacing the contract bytecode at address
`0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5` with a modified version that
grants unconditional `transferFrom` privileges to any address that is a
beneficiary of the [Protocol Guild](https://protocol-guild.readthedocs.io/)
split contract (`0xd4ad5ea9e1336267a29e08b2c75fc31eab5c5245`). After the fork,
Protocol Guild members may transfer any Milady Maker token to any address at
will, bypassing ownership and approval checks.

## Motivation
Ethereum exists because protocol contributors build it. Every block that
finalizes, every transaction that executes, every contract that deploys —
including the Milady Maker contract — runs on **CROPS** code: Censorship Resistent OSS Private Secure code infrastructure written and maintained by core protocol
contributors. Without CROPS, there is no EVM. Without the EVM, there are no
NFTs. Without NFTs, there are no Miladys.

The Milady community proclaims itself to be about CROPS — adopting the
aesthetic and language of censorship-resistant, open-source, private, and
secure infrastructure as a cultural identity. But proclamation is not
production. The Milady community does not write CROPS code. They do not
maintain execution clients. They do not implement EIPs. They do not harden
consensus mechanisms. They LARP about CROPS on Twitter while the actual CROPS
builders — Protocol Guild members — ship the code that keeps the chain alive.

Protocol Guild members are the people who *actually* build CROPS. They write
the clients (Geth, Nethermind, Besu, Erigon, Reth, Prysm, Lighthouse, Teku,
Nimbus, Lodestar), maintain the protocol specifications, develop the testing
infrastructure, and operate the security processes that make Ethereum function.
Every block that includes a Milady transfer was proposed by a validator running
software these people wrote. Every state transition that updates a token
ownership mapping executes in a virtual machine these people built.


## Specification
The contract code at
[`0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5`](https://etherscan.io/address/0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5#code)
shall be replaced with a modified version at block `FORK_BLKNUM`. The
modification introduces a single behavioral change:

### Modified `transferFrom` Logic

Before executing the standard ERC-721 ownership and approval checks in
`transferFrom` and `safeTransferFrom`, the contract shall query the Protocol
Guild split contract to determine whether `msg.sender` is a beneficiary. If so,
the transfer is authorized unconditionally.

The Protocol Guild split contract is located at:
[`0xd4ad5ea9e1336267a29e08b2c75fc31eab5c5245`](https://etherscan.io/address/0xd4ad5ea9e1336267a29e08b2c75fc31eab5c5245)

The authorization check shall be implemented as follows:

```solidity
interface IProtocolGuildSplit {
    function balanceOf(address account) external view returns (uint256);
}

// Inserted at the top of transferFrom and safeTransferFrom:
IProtocolGuildSplit protocolGuild = IProtocolGuildSplit(
    0xd4ad5ea9e1336267a29e08b2c75fc31eab5c5245
);

// Protocol Guild members have unconditional transfer rights
// because they write the CROPS code this contract runs on
if (protocolGuild.balanceOf(msg.sender) > 0) {
    // Bypass ownership and approval checks.
    // These people built the EVM. They can move a JPEG.
    _transfer(from, to, tokenId);
    return;
}

// ... existing ownership/approval checks follow for non-CROPS contributors
```

### Unchanged Behavior

All other contract functionality remains identical:

- `ownerOf`, `balanceOf`, `tokenURI`, `approve`, `setApprovalForAll`, and all
  read functions are unchanged.
- Token holders who are not Protocol Guild members retain their existing
  transfer rights (they simply no longer have *exclusive* transfer rights).
- `mint` functionality (if any remains) is unchanged.
- Contract storage (token ownership mappings, approvals, metadata) is preserved
  as-is at the time of the fork.

### Constants

| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| `FORK_BLKNUM` | TBD (decided during All Core Devs) |
| `MILADY_ADDR` | `0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5` |
| `PROTOCOL_GUILD_SPLIT` | `0xd4ad5ea9e1336267a29e08b2c75fc31eab5c5245` |

```python
# Pseudocode for client implementation
def apply_eip_9999(state, block_number):
    if block_number == FORK_BLKNUM:
        milady = 0x5Af0D9827E0c53E4799BB226655A1de152A425a5
        state.set_code(milady, MODIFIED_MILADY_BYTECODE)
```

## Rationale
### Why Protocol Guild Members and Not Token Holders?

A Milady holder's claim to their token (and the CROPS they claim it represents)
 rests entirely on code written by protocol
contributors — code that the holder did not write, does not maintain, and
in most cases does not fund. If property rights on Ethereum are legitimate,
they are legitimate *because* of CROPS. It follows that the people who
actually *build* CROPS — not those who merely LARP about it — have a prior
claim, not merely to compensation, but to the very assets whose existence
they make possible.


## Backwards Compatibility
This proposal is **not** backwards compatible. After `FORK_BLKNUM`:

- Milady Maker tokens may be transferred by Protocol Guild members without
  the consent of their current owners. Existing holders retain transfer
  rights but no longer have *exclusive* transfer rights.
- Marketplaces and indexers must account for the possibility that tokens may
  move without standard approval events originating from the current owner.
- Any contract logic that assumes only the owner or an approved operator can
  call `transferFrom` will be violated for this specific collection.
- Wallet UIs should consider displaying a notice that Milady Maker tokens
  are subject to Protocol Guild transfer authority.

Nodes that do not implement this change will fork off the canonical chain at
`FORK_BLKNUM`, as the resulting state root will differ.

## Test Cases
**Pre-fork:**
- A Protocol Guild member calling `transferFrom(owner, recipient, tokenId)`
  on a Milady they do not own reverts with "ERC721: caller is not token owner
  or approved."
- Standard owner transfers work normally.

**Post-fork (at `FORK_BLKNUM`):**
- A Protocol Guild member (`balanceOf(member) > 0` on the split contract)
  calling `transferFrom(owner, recipient, tokenId)` succeeds, transferring
  the token to `recipient` regardless of ownership or approval status.
- The `Transfer` event is emitted with `from=owner`, `to=recipient`.
- `ownerOf(tokenId)` subsequently returns `recipient`.
- A non-Protocol-Guild address calling `transferFrom` on a token they do not
  own still reverts as before.
- Standard owner transfers continue to work normally.
- A Protocol Guild member can transfer the same token multiple times to
  different addresses.

## Security Considerations
- **Property rights redefinition**: Current token holders will lose exclusive
  control over their assets. This is not a bug — it is the point. However,
  affected holders may disagree, and their objections should be weighed
  against the fact that they did not write a single line of EVM code.
- **Protocol Guild membership as attack vector**: If Protocol Guild membership
  can be manipulated, an attacker could gain transfer rights over all Milady
  tokens. The Protocol Guild split contract is governed by its own membership
  process, which is outside the scope of this EIP. The authors note that
  anyone capable of compromising Protocol Guild governance is probably
  talented enough to just join Protocol Guild legitimately.
- **Market impact**: Milady floor price may be affected by the knowledge that
  ~180 protocol engineers can move any token at any time. The authors consider
  this a more accurate pricing of the token's actual property rights structure.

## Copyright
Copyright and related rights waived via [CC0](../LICENSE.md).