- ApeChain, a new Ethereum layer-3 network, was launched by the ApeCoin DAO on Sunday at ApeFest Lisbon, leading to a doubling in the price of ApeCoin (APE).
- ApeChain features decentralized apps (dapps) like a meme coin launchpad called Ape Express, a trading simulation game called Top Trader, and games like Pixel Vaults Battle Plan and Dookey Dash Unclogged.
- With the launch of ApeChain, the DAO has allocated $70 million to The Banana Bill fund to invest in projects building on the network, and introduced a points-based reward system called Spotlight for ApeChain users.
Ethereum layer-3 network ApeChain launched on Sunday with a variety of games and apps, leading ApeCoin to spike by over 100%. The anticipated mainnet launch of the Bored Ape Yacht Club-aligned network came with numerous apps and games including a meme coin launchpad, a leverage trading simulator, and other games.
ApeChain Launch Details
Earlier this year, more than half of the ApeCoin DAO’s voting power went towards selecting Arbitrum technology to power the new scaling network, beating out other Ethereum scalers like Polygon and zkSync. This followed Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs publicly suggesting that the DAO should launch its own chain to avoid spiking Ethereum mainnet fees.
Eight months later, ApeChain is finally live with abstracted account creation, gas-sponsored transactions, and the first use of LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT), a standard that allows for tokens to be sent across multiple blockchains.
Games and Apps
ApeChain’s focus is beyond just the tech, according to Yuga Labs Chief Product Officer Michael Figge. In a release, Figge said “We are focused on two things: 1) making delightful experiences for us all to enjoy and 2) making the tools that create those experiences available to everybody on ApeChain.”
The first game launched on ApeChain is Top Trader, a trading simulation game with tournaments for the best traders to earn prizes. Described as the “premier schizo sim-trading platform,” Top Trader challenges players to use 1000x leverage to trade fake tokens and earn a spot on the high score leaderboard, with real crypto prizes for top players.
For “degens,” Ape Express is essentially a clone of Solana’s app Pumpfun, allowing users to launch tokens with zero technical knowledge. Already the protocol has seen several tokens reach multi-million-dollar market caps.
Also live is Pixel Vaults’ Battle Plan, an auto-brawler that previously migrated from other chains. Sugartown, created by FarmVille developer Zynga’s studio D20 Labs, will launch its poker game on ApeChain soon. Yuga’s Dookey Dash Unclogged and Otherside are also coming.
With the launch, the DAO has allocated $70 million to The Banana Bill, a fund that will invest in ApeChain projects. A new initiative called Spotlight will also reward users through a points-based system.
ApeCoin Price Spike
Following the launch, ApeCoin more than doubled in price from about $0.75 to a recent peak of $1.74 earlier Monday. It remains up 96% over the past week with a market cap above $1 billion, according to CoinGecko. The earlier peak marked a six-month high for the Bored Ape token, which is still down 94% from its all-time high.
Conclusion
The launch of ApeChain provides a new home for Bored Ape-related games and apps, as well as other projects wanting to leverage the network. With games like Top Trader and Ape Express already live and more on the way, the network will seek to attract users while the price of ApeCoin has spiked from the launch.
