ApeCoin Launches for Bored Ape Ethereum NFT Holders With Reddit, FTX, Animoca Execs on Board

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders are about to get yet another reward for being in the club: ApeCoin (APE), which launched on Wednesday.

Notably, the token was not created by Yuga Labs, the developer behind BAYC. It was created by ApeCoin DAO in an effort to show decentralization. 

That being said, ApeCoin sports the BAYC skull logo, and Yuga Labs is adopting ApeCoin “as the primary token for all new products and services” including its blockchain game coming later this year, according to a press release. And on March 17, the Animoca Brands blockchain game Benji Bananas will also implement ApeCoin. 

As a refresher: NFTs such as Bored Apes are unique blockchain-based tokens that indicate ownership over a physical or digital asset, like an image of a cartoon ape. DAOs are decentralized autonomous organizations, communities which use blockchain tokens as votes to allow for decisions to be made collectively.

Unlike some DAOs—where NFTs can be used as votes—the ApeCoin DAO only requires a member to hold an ApeCoin token in order to participate in voting and community-based governance.

While there are a total of 1 billion ApeCoins in existence, many have already been distributed to interested parties. According to ApeCoin’s website, 9.75% of tokens will be held by Yuga Labs, 14% are being given to “launch contributors,” 8% are being given to the four founders of Yuga Labs specifically, and another 6.25% is being donated to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation.

Bored Ape and Mutant Ape NFT holders will also be able to claim a share of the ApeCoin supply. BAYC holders can claim about 10,000 APE per BAYC NFT, while MAYC holders will only be able to claim about 2,000 APE per NFT.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is on ApeCoin DAO’s board, along with FTX’s Amy Wu, Yat Siu of Animoca Brands, Maaria Bajwa of Sound Ventures, and Dean Steinbeck at Horizen Labs.

Ohanian sees the DAO as a way to expand the reach and fanbase of the BAYC.

“Today we’re making the ‘Club’ bigger with ApeCoin,” he said in a statement to press. “Web3 is being integrated into our art, music, and culture more and more everyday and it all starts with community. I believe this community will build, expand, partner, and disrupt in a massive way.”