What is ApeCoin?
An in-depth overview of ApeCoin.
Overview
ApeCoin is an ERC-20 token developed by Yuga Labs, the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The token aims to become the asset of choice for a new metaverse ecosystem. Currently, ApeCoin can be traded, staked to earn APR, used to participate in the governance of the ApeCoin DAO, or used to purchase additional NFTs and merchandise within the Bored Ape ecosystem.
Market
The market for ApeCoin has had fairly violent swings similar to many assets in the industry over 2022/2023. According to Coinmarketcap, ApeCoin traded over $8 billion in volume on its release day, March 17, 2022. The token hit an all-time high of $26.75 on April 28th, 2022. Today it's trading around $5.00.
If you are looking to pick up ApeCoin, you can get it on most major exchanges
Tokenomics
The current circulating supply is at 361,250,000, with a max supply of 1,000,000,000.
62% of the tokens go to the ApeCoin DAO community. Of that, 15% goes to holders of BAYC and MAYC, with holders of BAYC eligible to claim 10,094 $APE for each NFT they own, and MAYC holders able to claim 2,042. The rest has been released as part of the DAO’s “ecosystem fund.”
16% of the tokens have gone directly to Yuga Labs. Yuga Labs has also designated a portion of this allocation toward the primatologist Jane Goodall’s charity foundation to help support real-life apes.
14% of the tokens went to “launch contributors,” which are defined as “the companies and people who helped make this project a reality,” but details are scant on exactly who these contributors are.
8% of the tokens went directly to the four founders of Yuga Labs and BAYC.
Staking
The Ape staking process will be implemented over a 3-year period and will result in the distribution of 17.5% of the total ApeCoin supply. One of the most unique and interesting aspects of ApeCoin is its staking mechanism which deviates from many traditional staking protocols with the ability to stake “through” an NFT as a means of securing staked tokens. This approach enables continued utilization of the NFT for various purposes, such as merchandise drops and event participation, while simultaneously accruing staked ApeCoin.The custom staking mechanism is a novel concept, but it is important to note that the potential loss or transfer of the NFT would result in the transfer of any accrued or staked ApeCoin. If you plan to participate in staking, it's important to keep this in mind to avoid accidentally transferring your accrued/staked ApeCoin along with your NFTs.
Pools
In addition to serving as keys to your staked ApeCoin, staking with an NFT also provides access to different staking pools. There will be four pools available to access, based on the NFT used to stake: a BAYC pool, a MAYC pool, a BAKC pool, and an $ape-only pool.
To access the BAKC pool, you must hold a BAYC or MAYC, and each B/MAYC can only be paired with one BAKC.
Each pool will contain a portion of the total 100,000,000 ApeCoin that will be released in the first year. The ApeCoin pool can be accessed by anyone with ApeCoin and does not require holding any NFTs.
The pool breakdown is as follows:
ApeCoin Pool: 30,000,000 (30%)
BAYC Pool: 47,105,000 (47.1%)
MAYC Pool: 19,060,000 (19.06%)
BAKC Pool: 3,835,000 (3.83%)
These allocations will be readjusted based on floor prices before each staking period (one year). An average price during Q4 of the previous staking period will determine the amount allocated to each of the pools in the next period. The ApeCoin-only pool will remain constant at 30%.
If you are interested in an overview of all of the wallets currently staking and in which pools, take a look at our dashboard:
Caps
The NFT-specific pools have caps on the total ApeCoin that can be staked, equalling the amount that NFT received from the initial ApeCoin claim. The ApeCoin-only pool has no caps.
BAYC Cap: 10,094 ApeCoin
MAYC Cap: 2,042 ApeCoin
BAKC Cap: 856 ApeCoin
These caps were added to encourage equal distribution within the NFT pools. Everyone is on equal footing, only able to stake a specific amount. Without this, the allocation of the rewards would dwindle as large holders staked more ApeCoin into the pools.
Staking also contains an “Incentive Distribution Curve”. This curve means that the earlier a stake is placed each period, the better. The highest staking earnings are earned within the first 91 days of each staking period.
Staking Returns
At the time of this writing, the APY of ApeCoin staking remains relatively high, with the BAKC pool consistently providing the highest APR.
Ape-only Pool: 105% APR
BAYC-only Pool: 184% APR
MAYC-only Pool: 199% APR
BAKC Pool: 197% APR
The following is an up-to-date dashboard of the current staking APY:
https://dune.com/ponzidope/apecoin-staking-apy
All of this info and more can be found in the official staking AIPs 21 and 22. forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-21-staki…
forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-22-staki…
ApeCoin DAO
The ApeCoin DAO manages a treasury that is used to fund projects that support the growth and development of the ApeCoin ecosystem. The DAO follows a proposal process (AIPs) where community members can propose and vote on how the Ecosystem Fund should be distributed. The goal of this process is to promote a diverse and self-sustaining ecosystem for ApeCoin.
Proposals are voted on by staking ApeCoin in favor or against a particular proposal. The DAO has had a total of 58 proposals submitted, out of which 22 have passed. The average amount of ApeCoin staked per proposal is roughly 5,065,497 (only 1.4% of the total available ApeCoin supply).
For a deeper look into the ApeCoin statistics, take a look at our ApeCoin dashboard:
ApeCoin for the Metaverse
One of the most exciting utilities of ApeCoin is the upcoming use within the Otherside metaverse. Stay tuned for a follow-up that will dive deep specifically into the Otherside.
How to Participate
There are many ways to participate in ApeCoin .
Purchase ApeCoin and stake (non-US only).
Participate in ApeCoin DAO by submitting proposals or voting.
Participate in “Trips”
About CR3 Labs
CR3 Labs builds tooling for Web3 gaming to help creators, collectors, and gamers unlock value in the new digital frontier.
Learn more at https://www.cr3labs.com.
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