Yuga Labs, creator of the hugely popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, said it had launched a new token, ApeCoin (APE), for use on the BAYC ecosystem. Yuga will also drop 15% of total APE supply to BAYC holders later today.
The company said it has established a foundation to oversee the token, called the Ape Foundation, as well as a decentralized organization that will manage the token.
Yuga announced the move on Twitter, saying that 62% of APE’s total offerings will be allocated to the community. The token airdrop will begin today at 8:30 a.m. ET and the claim period will last 90 days.
We are excited to announce that we are adopting ApeCoin as the primary token for the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem and for future Yuga products and services. https://t.co/HJs5zD9i2i
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) March 16, 2022
The token is also set to start trading on major crypto exchanges as soon as possible, according to the APE Foundation. Binance said it will list the coin later in the day, while Coinbase also appeared to have an early listing of the coin.
Yuga Labs is booming in the NFT market
The token offering comes shortly after Yuga Labs purchased the rights to Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks and Meebits NFT collections. The deal cemented Yuga’s position as the largest player in the NFT market.
Data from Coinmarketcap estimates that Bored Ape Yacht Club, which is based on the Ethereum blockchain, is valued at around 971,747 ETH – about $2.7 billion. CryptoPunks is worth 777,349 ETH ($2.1 billion), and Mutant Ape Yacht Club, a spin-off of BAYC, is worth 388,613 ETH ($1.1 billion). They are the three largest NFT collections on the market.
An NFT boom in 2021 appears to show no signs of slowing down this year. The market continues to attract several high-profile new entrants, including major Wall Street companies and A-list celebrities.
Gaming companies raise APE Coin
Animoca Brands, one of the world’s largest blockchain game developers, said it would enable NFT purchases with APE in its pay-to-earn (P2E) game Benji Bananas. The company also said it would use APE for a “secret project” it is developing with BAYC.
P2E game developer nWayPlay said it will use APE in a new P2E game it is developing together with BAYC.
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With over five years of experience in global financial markets, Ambar plans to leverage this knowledge for the fast-growing world of crypto and DeFi. His main interest lies in finding out how geopolitical developments could affect crypto markets and what that could mean for your bitcoin holdings. When he’s not scouring the internet for the latest news, you can watch him play video games or watch Seinfeld reruns. You can reach him at [email protected]
This post Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creator announces ApeCoin ($APE) token
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