ApeCoin — During the NFT boom of 2020, many tokens rose to prominence, and projects started working to outpace each other. However, one project in particular managed to take the top spot and has remained there to this day.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club continues to be the face of NFTs whenever the topic comes around. Celebrities and influencers have invested hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars just to cop one of the biggest NFTs in the market.
Yuga Labs, the upstart that kickstarted the beloved token, have branched out, reaching into other aspects of the decentralized finance world. Among their most popular products to date is the ApeCoin – a utility and governance token created and utilized to power the community within the APE Ecosystem.
While not as wildly popular as other tokens, the ApeCoin managed to thrive in the highly competitive ecosystem. However, everything changed in 2022 when the crypto market collapsed. Although it took some time, the market managed to stabilize. However, things have started to look bleak again with the NFT space pressed.
Read also: Voyager hit with $5.2 million legal fees bill
What’s happening?
In the past few weeks, the NFT space has been feeling some pressure, particularly with prominent collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club feeling weighed down. In turn, the stress has carried over to ApeCoin.
According to data from CoinGecko, ApeCoin, which is closely associated with Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection of 10,000, has taken a drop of 15%. ApeCoin dragged its prices past an all-time low on Friday, sinking to $1.85. With the NFT market still struggling to regain its footing, ApeCoin continues to witness a decline.
Bored Ape NFTs recovered from a recent, multi-year low regarding floor price – the price of the cheapest listed NFT for sale from a collection. However, the token danced around the edges, falling two cents short of a newfound bottom on Monday after the fresh low point last Friday.
The coin and the NFT
ApeCoin is an Ethereum-based token that was introduced to the world in March 2022. Its launch was heavily awaited by fans of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Shortly after its debut, the token hit an all-time high of $26.70 in April. At that point in time, ApeCoin reached a market cap of almost $7.6 billion dollars. However, it has since declined, dropping by nearly 93% from its peak.
Meanwhile, the popular Bored Ape NFTs hit a record-low price of 152 that month, translating to $429,000. The NFTs poor performance can be attributed to celebrity owners who regarded Bored Apes as digital status symbols. In addition, Yuga Labs’ metaverse game, Otherside, played a role in the slow decline. Since then, Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT prices took a steep drop. On July 2, Bored Ape prices hit its low of around $52,000 worth of ETH.
The coin’s role
ApeCoin is an important building block to the metaverse game developed by Yuga Labs. In Otherside, it primarily serves as the standard currency. Community members or Voyagers joined the second playtest in March. Around 7,200 Voyagers delved into the metaverse, getting a brief taste of the upcoming decentralized game.
The coin was taken in by Yuga Labs following its launch from the ApeCoin DAO – a decentralized autonomous organization that allows community members and Bored Ape holders to shape initiatives, giving them rein over things like projects and rules.
According to the ApeCoin website, it serves as the token’s steward. Meanwhile, the APE foundation functions as the DAO’s day-to-day administrator. Last week, the foundation’s special counsel voted new members to fill the seats vacated by Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
During the ApeCoin launch, Bored Ape holders could claim a preset allotment of tokens. Holders of Yuga Labs’ follow-up collection, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, were also able to claim the preset allotment of tokens.
As ApeCoin prices skirt the all-time low, its current market cap of over $700 million reflects the total value of tokens used in other metaverse projects, including SAND by The Sandbox ($760 million) and MANA by Decentraland ($699 million).
