The creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs are making some big moves this year with the launch of the ApeCoin($APE), after the triumphant launch and sale of their NFTs last April. Following this announcement, the floor price of the BAYC NFTs crossed 100 Eth to stabilize at 105 Eth.
They took to Twitter to announce the launch of this ERC-20 governance and utility token. The token will be owned and operated by the ApeCoin DAO.
In Brief:
- The ApeCoin DAO members will take decisions regarding the token.
- ApeCoin Foundation will be formed to implement the DAO’s decisions.
- Full scope of the token’s uses has not been disclosed yet.
Holding ApeCoin will be the only requirement for membership to the DAO. The DAO members will make decisions regarding the Ecosystem Fund allocations, governance rules, projects, partnerships and more.
The DAO will carry the official branding of the BAYC, which is being gifted by the Yuga Labs. It is a 1/1 NFT of a Blue Bored Apes logo.
The DAO’s decisions will be administered by an organization called the Ape Foundation. The foundation will have five Board members for the first six months, after which the DAO members will vote on the Board members on an annual basis.
The five initial Board members are:
- Alexis Ohanian: Co-founder of Reddit; General Partner & Founder of Seven Seven Six
- Amy Wu: Head of Ventures & Gaming at FTX
- Maaria Bajwa: Principal at Sound Ventures
- Yat Siu: Co-founder & Chairman of Animoca Brands
- Dean Steinbeck: President & General Counsel at Horizen Labs
Out of the total 1 billion Ape coins supply, 15% will go to the Bored ape club NFT owners (whose claiming will begin from 17 March, 8:30 AM ET) and 47% will be released over time as part of the DAO’s “ecosystem fund”. The remaining tokens will go to various founders, partners and investors of Yuga Labs and BAYC.
The Ethereum-based token will also start trading soon on various exchanges.
The full scope of what the token can do is still unclear however, it will be the “primary token for all new products and services” from the company and will be used as the in-game currency for certain titles that Yuga Labs is working on in partnership with the gaming studio nWay.
The yet-to-be released gaming titles will adopt a play-to-earn approach. ApeCoin will also have utility in Animoca brand’s existing title Benji Bananas.
A trademark filing for the token shows the DAO’s plan to sell physical merchandise as well as virtual goods, including jewelry, books, clothing and beverages. Yuga Labs recently acquired the IP rights of CryptoPunks and Meebits from the Larva Lab and has truly become a force to reckon with.
