- Apecoin is a new ERC-20 token launched by Yuga Labs, backed by the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, intended to be a currency and governance token for web3 communities.
- Apecoin offers utility like governance, access, rewards, and payments related to the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem and future Yuga Labs metaverse projects.
- With strong backing and an incentivized tokenomics model, Apecoin has significant growth potential as a currency and governance token for web3 and metaverse projects.
It’s time to take another look at lifestyle and media company Yuga Labs, easily one of the biggest players in Web3. While its influence waned during the bear market, recent developments are reigniting interest. Notably, its price trend reflects a steady upward trajectory, prompting a reevaluation of its potential. This article looks at possible reasons for the latest activity by diving into Yuga’s recent acquisition of Proof Collective, their potential gaming initiatives, and bullish collaborations under consideration by the DAO. Let’s explore these developments further.
As you may have heard, Yuga Labs has recently expanded its portfolio by acquiring Proof Collective, a well-known project recognized for its Moonbirds collection. Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre is enthusiastic about the purchase, believing that this move will enhance art, culture, and community engagement in Web3. He also perceives it as a strategic decision that could influence the price of Apecoin by boosting Yuga’s overall brand value.
However, not everyone shares the CEO’s perspective and finds it challenging to understand the reasoning behind the move, particularly since Yuga has been grappling with rebuilding community sentiment and creating value for its existing projects. Now, they’ve added another project with over 5 collections.
The strategy appears to be to accumulate numerous top IPs in the space and then leverage them for future products and ventures. There’s a sense that Yuga is aiming for a larger scale than initially anticipated.
Those heavily invested in BAYC and other assets oin their ecosystem are concerned that this move may divert attention from their investments in the short term, but only time will tell.
The Latest AIPs:
If you’re curious about the ongoing votes within the ApeCoin community, here’s what’s currently being considered:
AIPAIP-392: PKing – 3D MOBA social game: APE holders change the world through gaming.
PKing is a 3D Moba pixel racing metaverse game, that lets players transform Meebits into racers, customize their own cars, and compete globally in thrilling collisions. Set in a mysterious metaverse post-Third World War, where humans, aliens, and AI coexist.
It’s going to benefit the ApeCoin ecosystem in a variety of ways. APE tokens are used for in-game purchases like limited props, vehicle upgrades, and skill enhancements. The game aims to expand influence in Asia, increase token holders, and develop APE and Yuga NFT IP derivatives. APE will also be deflationary, with buybacks using game revenue for APE, BAYC, MAYC, Punks, and Meebits.
AIP-390: ApeCast – An audio app for all things ApeCoin
ApeCast is an audio library app available on iOS and Android that’s tailored for curated X Spaces and ApeCoin-related recordings with the goal of greatly saving the community time when catching up on the project. With ApeCast, efficiently search for keywords and dive into specific segments quickly.
Initial supported sources include ApeComms spaces, MOCA town halls, Ape Assembly Meetings, and community requests for up to five sources. Additionally, AI-powered translations in languages such as French, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish ensure global accessibility.
For those short on time, concise summaries are available. We believe this will encourage more regular engagement within the ApeCoin ecosystem.
AIP-382: Ape Builder House
Brinc, a global venture accelerator, has invested in over 250 startups across the past 8 years is a portfolio company of Animoca Brands and boasts a track record of 64 Web3 startups, deploying a total investment of $10.5 million USD.
They have proposed the launch of the Ape Builder House, intending to promote the integration of ApeCoin into new and existing businesses. Their proposal includes a prize pool featuring $APE grants alongside acceptance into Brinc’s world-class Web3 Accelerator, which will provide additional opportunities for education, mentorship, and funding to empower the winners.
This combined with Brinc’s IRL events at two of the biggest Web3 conferences globally will build ecosystem awareness and utility for $APE, as well as as add use case, utility, and more holders.
The Builder House will provide an opportunity for new and existing $APE holders, startups, and individual creators to launch a new idea or add to an existing business with the use of $APE.
Recent News
ApeCoin recently made an announcement on the X Platform via a cryptic video, featuring a TV screen and a single message: ApeKin Protocol Loading. Subsequently, it was revealed that ApeKin is the latest addition to the ApeCoin brand, serving as its mascot. A link to the 3D model and guide was provided for those looking to get more information, along with instructions on how to reach out to the team and request a license for these brand assets.
Price Predictions
Price predictions for ApeCoin remain consistent throughout 2024 and into 2025 from a few different sources. According to CryptoPredictions, APE is expected to reach approximately $1.50 in the short term and approach just under $2.00 by the year’s end. Digitalcoin forecasts a higher price target, anticipating it to reach around $3.50 as we transition into 2025. Conversely, Binance projects a more moderate average of $1.50 for 2025. Cryptopolitan offers a minimum price prediction of $1.88 and an average of $1.95 throughout 2024. However, with ApeCoin’s ongoing growth trajectory, they speculate that its value could surge to as high as $2.29 at its peak.
Price Statistics & Token Unlock Incoming
The market cap is currently floating around $1,041,694,279 with trading volume over the past 24 hours, reaching $182,097,919.
The circulating supply is currently 596,638,257 tokens out of a total supply of 1,000,000,000. Price has fluctuated today between $1.69 and $1.89, while over the past week, the range was from $1.48 to $1.89. The all-time high occurred at $26.70, marking a 93.4% increase on April 28, 2022, nearly two years ago. Conversely, the all-time low hit $1.01, reflecting a 74.4% decrease on October 10, 2023.
Scheduled for March 16, 2024, the unlocking of several batches of ApeCoin tokens is anticipated. These include 7.34 million tokens from the ecosystem fund, valued at approximately $13.15 million, and 4.17 million tokens held by Yuga Labs, totaling around $7.46 million. Additionally, the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation will unlock 277,778 tokens valued at about $497,222. Launch contributors are set to see the release of 833,333 tokens, with an approximate value of $1.49 million, alongside another batch of 757,576 tokens worth approximately $1.36 million. Finally, founders will have 2.22 million tokens unlocked, valued at around $3.98 million.
Final Thoughts
First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that we’re arguably at the start of a bull market. It’s safe to anticipate an influx of investors, assuming history repeats itself, again…and again. Considering this context, ApeCoin could surpass the aforementioned predictions, potentially bringing in even greater returns. After all, there’s no compelling reason why ApeCoin won’t follow the trajectory of other top coins – especially since it’s been mirroring the rest of the market’s recent activity – just something to consider.
Additionally, concerning the purchase of Proof, and their Moonbirds IP…some are thinking this could be a long-term strategy with their metaverse plans, Otherside, but people are having a hard time seeing it.
It would be more interesting if Yuga had something more ‘Pudgy Penguin’ in mind when making the acquisition. That project has attracted a lot of attention recently and the Moonbird IP is a lot more ‘pudgy-like’ when compared to anything in the current Yuga collection. It’s just something to consider because if they were to take the Moonbirds in this direction, the community could see it as bullish. Certainly far more interesting than integrating them into the Otherside platform, where Moonbird CEO (now Advisor for Yuga) believes they can grow and evolve.
