Bored Ape Yacht Club’s ApeCoin is set to be released but will be a separate entity from Yuga Labs. Meanwhile, the current floor price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collectibles stands at Ξ 105.00 or about $291,363.
It looks like the leaked information regarding the release of ApeCoin is partly true. A recent tweet revealed that ApeCoin is set to be released and distributed among owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collectibles.
The tweet also disclosed that a new ecosystem of play-to-earn games developed by Yuga Labs and Animoca Brands would use ApeCoin as its “primary token” of choice.
ApeCoin Launch Recipients
Contrary to what is expected, ApeCoin is a separate entity from Yuga Labs. The new token’s developer is ApeCoin DAO, and according to its website, one billion ApeCoin tokens will soon be released and distributed among various parties.
The ApeCoin DAO website explicitly states the division of the tokens. Sixty-two percent of its total supply will go to an ecosystem fund, 14% will be set aside for “launch contributors,” 9.75% will be held by Yuga Labs (the creators of BAYC), 8% will go straight to Yuga Labs’ founders. The remaining 6.25% will be donated to charity. The charity of choice is the Jane Goodall Foundation, an advocate of preserving chimpanzees’ habitats.
Those falling under the “launch contributors” category will receive 10,000 ApeCoin each as an incentive for their “membership” to the exclusive digital asset club. Big-name celebrities set to receive the tokens are Jimmy Fallon, Eminem, Mark Cuban, and Steph Curry.
In-Depth Look into ApeCoin
As mentioned, ApeCoin will be technically separate from Yuga Labs. Nevertheless, the company is expected to adopt it entirely as the “primary token for all new products and services” that it will release.
Among these products and services is a yet-to-be-released, play-to-earn blockchain game that Yuga Labs will be releasing later this year in collaboration with game developer nWay and the upcoming play-to-earn game Benji Bananas from Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, the owner of nWay.
According to Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands and ApeCoin DAO board member, ApeCoin is another advancement in the progression of NFTs.
“ApeCoin is a token that represents the zeitgeist of NFTs today — it is, in a sense, the expression of the current culture of NFTs,” he said.
He added that ApeCoin is touted to become the “Dogecoin of NFTs where the utility is community created and community valued.”
Siu foresees a positive future for ApeCoin, although he did note that utility will be provided through various games.
“ApeCoin itself has some starting utility, [which will] kick off with games and more to come… the benefits will be the creative energy that combines this mix of technology and culture that the BAYC community has kicked off already, [which] will reach much larger audiences due to the fungible and transferable nature of ApeCoin.”
Almost one year since it was launched in April 2021, BAYC has gone on to land on the list of highest-profile NFT collections. It continues to thrive primarily through high-profile celebrities being added to its owners’ list, including Paris Hilton.
The official ApeCoin website says the token will be available for purchase on all major exchanges.
Significant Movements within the BAYC Realm
The release of ApeCoin is just another one of the significant movements within the BAYC realm. In a move that surprised many NFT aficionados, Bored Ape Yacht Club’s parent, Yuga Labs, acquired two NFT firepowers in CryptoPunks and Meebits. The two are original creations of Larva Labs. The deal was signed and sealed over the past weekend.
Launched in 2017, CryptoPunks comprises 10,000 distinctively generated characters, and its proof of ownership is stored on the Ethereum blockchain. No two creations are exactly alike. Currently, its floor price is Ξ 62.25 or roughly $ 172,736.
On the other hand, Meebits are special 3D voxel characters, and each one is developed using a custom generative algorithm. It was launched in 2021, and as of this writing, its floor price is Ξ 4.74 or about $ 13,152.
Meebits and CryptoPunks Are Among Popular NFT Collections
We recently reported about this acquisition. One of the reasons behind the sale was to foster a “community of builders.” However, in an official statement, Yuga Labs heaped praises to the project founders of CryptoPunks and Meebits for influencing the company in creating its famed BAYC collectibles.
“Their work moved NFTs, the Ethereum blockchain, and the entire crypto space forward and influenced how we built BAYC. We’re honored to shepherd the CryptoPunks and Meebits brands into the future as part of the broader ecosystem we’re building,” Yuga Labs said.
Both Yuga Labs and Larva Labs still haven’t revealed the acquisition cost. However, with Meebits and CryptoPunks being among the top-selling NFT collections in marketplaces like OpenSea and LooksRare, the capital that sealed the deal could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“This deal came about in a very organic way from conversations between our partner Guy Oseary and the Larva Labs founders. One call led to another, and here we are at this historic moment,” Yuga Labs said.
Larva Labs co-founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson will not dip their hands in the framework of this deal.
Soaring Floor Price after Acquisition
As reported previously, Yuga Labs now holds the intellectual property rights of 423 CryptoPunks NFTs and 1711 Meebits NFTs as part of the sale. In this developing story, it seems the acquisition played a significant role in BAYC’s soaring floor price.
As per CoinGecko, BAYC NFT collectibles, which feature variants of cartoonized apes, currently have a floor price of Ξ 107.40 or about $ 298,023. That shows a 25% in floor price in the last 24 hours. At the time of acquisition, the highest floor price was Ξ 96.88, or roughly $268,831.
The figures could change in the coming days, especially now that NFT owning has become a rising trend among many crypto holders and celebrities. Even platforms like the New York Stock Exchange have joined the NFT bandwagon and have expressed their desire to operate as an NFT marketplace in the future.
Just last month, New York City unveiled the world’s first NFT vending machine. The machine makes it possible for non-crypto holders to purchase NFT collectibles using their credit or debit cards.
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