By
Andy Watson
April 26th, 2024
Following the announcement, Coinbase stated that it “will add support for APE with the Experimental label”.
On Wednesday, Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) announced the launch of a new token, ApeCoin (APE) for the NFT holders. Interestingly, the coin was not created by Yuga Labs, the developers of BAYC. Instead, it was created by ApeCoin DAO.
ApeCoin DAO will empower its community to design blockchain games and services as well as create physical and virtual merchandise. The organization will be administered by the ApeCoin Foundation.
While some think that Yuga Labs’ decision to separate itself from ApeCoin is a move for decentralization, others think Yuga Labs is trying to avoid regulatory backlash from the SEC. Recall that despite distancing itself from NFT projects, the SEC has repeatedly frowned at NFT projects with unregistered tokens.
The ApeCoin DAO is headed by a council comprising Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), Amy Wu (FTX), Maaria Bajwa (Sound Ventures’), Yat Sui (Animoca Brands), and Dean Steinbeck (Horizen Labs)
Speaking on the token launch, Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder noted:
“Today, we’re making the Club bigger with ApeCoin.”
He said that Web3 integration into different spheres begins with a community. “I believe this community will build, expand, partner, and disrupt massively,” added he.
ApeCoin Distribution and Use Cases Offered by BAYC
In all, there are 1 billion ApeCoins. Of this number, 14% will go to “launch contributors,” 8% to the founders of BAYC, and 16% will go to the Yuga Labs. BAYC and MAYC holders will claim 15% while the rest will form part of the DAO’s “ecosystem fund.
According to a statement, the token holders will be able to vote on all community decisions. All other special decisions will be left to the DAO council. Also, Yuga Labs noted that it would adopt ApeCoin as its primary token for future products and services. Animoca Brands blockchain game, Benji Bananas also plans to implement the token into its architecture.
The token also remains central to ApeCoin DAO’s intention to trade both physical and virtual goods.
Following the announcement, Coinbase stated that it “will add support for APE with the Experimental label”. Likewise, the token will soon be available for trading on other major exchanges including Binance, eToro, FTX, Gemini, Kraken, and OKX.