ApeCoin is an ERC-20 governance and utility token used within the APE ecosystem. The token is administered by the Ape DAO and anyone holding the coin is allowed to vote on the relevant governance decisions.^[19]

Overview

ApeCoin is the APE ecosystem’s utility token, giving all its participants a shared and open currency. It provides access to exclusive games, merch, events, and services. Third-party developers can also participate in the ecosystem by incorporating APE into services, games, and other projects.^[19] In Animoca Brands’ Benji Bananas, a play-to-earn (P2E) mobile game, the coin was adopted as an incentive for players. They are able to earn special tokens when playing and swap these tokens for ApeCoin.^[7][19] ApeCoin also serves as an acceptable payment option on some platforms. The leading fashion brand, Gucci, and the popular NFTs marketplace, OpenSea, accept ApeCoin for payments.^[2]

ApeCoin is a governance token allowing its holders to participate in ApeCoin DAO. The ApeCoin Foundation, as the legal representative of the DAO, implements the governance decisions taken by the community. The Foundation has a special body called the Board that executes the community’s visions. The APE Board comprises five members from the technology and crypto community. ApeCoin holders vote for new Board members annually.^[19]

ApeCoin Claiming

Tokens were allocated to BAYC and MAYC holders starting on March 17, 2022. Each Bored Ape or Mutant Ape NFT that had a companion Bored Ape Kennel Club NFT were able to claim a greater amount of ApeCoin.^[18]

• Bored Ape only - 10,094 tokens
• Mutant Ape only - 2,042 tokens
• Bored Ape + Kennel Club - 10,950 tokens
• Mutant Ape + Kennel Club - 2,898 tokens^[4]

Tokenomics

The total supply of ApeCoin is fixed at 1 billion tokens. No minting token-burning capability is exposed through the contract interface, so the total supply will never change. A portion of the tokens for contributors to the project was initially locked. Locked tokens will be unlocked over a period of 48 months, in accordance with the predetermined unlock schedule starting on launch day, March 17, 2022.^[20]

ApeCoin was distributed among four main groups - Ecosystem Fund, Yuga Labs and Charity, Launch Contributors, and BAYC Founders. Ecosystem Fund received 62% of the token allocation, with 150,000,000 tokens going to BAYC/MAYC holders (all unlocked for the claim at launch) and 470,000,000 tokens going to DAO treasury and resources (117,500,000 unlocked at launch, then 7,343,750 unlocked per month for 48 months).^[1]

16% of the token allocation went to Yuga Labs and Charity. 150,000,000 tokens went to Yuga Labs
with an initial lock-up of 12 months, then 4,166,666.67 unlocked per month for 36 months. 10,000,000 tokens or equal value are supposed to be donated to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation with an initial lock-up of 12 months, then 277,777.78 tokens unlocked per month for 36 months.^[19]

140,000,000 (14%) tokens were given to launch contributors and 80,000,000 (8%) tokens to the founders of Yuga Labs.^[19]

ApeCoin Staking

The ApeCoin staking allows users to add their tokens to a pool for long-term growth and earn rewards in more tokens. The staking reward is calculated using two parameters: the number of tokens staked and the number of days the tokens were staked for.^[14]

Recently the ecosystem launched Apestake.io and commenced staking pre-deposit on December 6, 2022. The reward for staking ApeCoin is referred to as the Ape Staking emission and is 17.5% of the token supply and is spread to be released across 3 years.^[15]

Initial Reward Distribution

Users of the ApeCoin platform will have the option to stake their $APE tokens in one of four primary staking pools. The pools are open to those with either BAYC (or related) NFTs and $APE tokens. During the first year of staking, 100 million $APE will be released as rewards across the pools, with the allocation as follows:^[25][26]

• $APE Staking Pool (30 million $APE)
• BAYC Staking Pool (47.1 million $APE)
• MAYC Staking Pool (19.1 million $APE)
• BAKC Staking Pool (3.8 million $APE)

To participate in staking with BAYC or related NFTs, users will need to commit their NFTs using $APE and designate the appropriate staking pool. It is important to note that if a BAYC NFT holder sells their NFT while it is committed, they will lose all of their staked $APE. ApeCoin recommends that users uncommit their NFTs before selling.^[24][25][27]

The Staking Amendment Proposal

In the spring of 2022, Animoca Brand proposed the Ape staking AIPs (Ape Improvement Proposal) called AIP-4 and AIP-5 to improve the Ape staking system. While holders could stake and unstake their tokens are any time, the introduction of AIP-4 and AIP-5 introduced four new staking pools and the number of tokens that can be staked per NFT.^[14]

With the proposal, holders of BAYC NFT can stake 10,094 $APE per NFT. Holders of a MAYC NFT can stake 2,042 $APE, and the BAKC NFTS allows holders to stake 856 $APE per NFT. Furthermore, holders of multiple NFTs can stake more coins, and splitting BAYC into different wallets comes with no reward.^[16]

The Four Staking pools

Ape Pool: This is the first staking pool, and it is accessible to ApeCoin holders only. It was allocated 30% of the staking pool.^[16]

BAYC Pool: The second staking pool is accessible to anyone holding ApeCoin and BAYC NFT. This pool is allocated 47.1% of the staking pool.^[16]

MAYC Pool: The third pool is accessible to those holding ApeCoin and MAYC NFT. the MAYC pool is allocated 19.06% of the staking pool.^[16]

Paired BAKC Pool: Finally, the Paired BACK staking pool is accessible for ApeCoin holders with BAKC NFT and either a BAYC or MAYC NFT. This pool has access to only 3.8% of the staking pool.^[16]

Effects of the Staking Amendment

With the passed staking amendment, users of NFTs can access the pools by pairing their respective NFTs with the number of tokens capped to each. However, the NFTs itself isn't staked; it only serves as a "key vault" for the staked token.^[14]

Holders have two options when selling their NFTs. First, they can leave the staked ApeCoin and sell together with the NFT. When this happens, the selling party can no longer unstake the token, but the buyer can unstake and claim its reward. Conversely, an NFT holder can decide to unstake the staked token, claim it, and sell the NFT.^[14]

It should be noted that while staking is available for all users, ApeCoin geo-blocked north American and some other users from staking. This geo-blocking regulation affects users or community members in the United States, Syria, Canada, Iran, Russia, Cuba, Luhansk, and Donetsk were blocked from staking. However, the ecosystem remains accessible to all.^[17]

ApeCoin DAO

ApeCoin DAO is the decentralized autonomous organization in the APE ecosystem. The DAO provides ApeCoin holders with governance power that allows them to vote and determine the decisions made in the ecosystem through an AIP (Ape Improvement Proposal).^[1] Holding ApeCoin is the only requirement for membership in the DAO.^[20]

The ApeCoin DAO authority was implemented when deciding whether to move ApeCoin from the Ethereum blockchain following the Otherside Land Minting. While Yuga Labs stated that moving ApeCoin may be the best decision to reduce gas fees, the ApeCoin DAO, on the other hand, voted to keep the coin on the Ethereum blockchain instead of moving to Avalanche.^[8]

APE Foundation

The Foundation is the executive arm of ApeCoin DAO. The Foundation implements decisions made by the ApeCoin DAO regarding any question or task within its capacity; these include bookkeeping, project management, and managing everyday activities.^[1] An Ape Foundation subcommittee also serves as ApeCoin DAO’s Board, which oversees certain proposals. The initial board consists of five high-profile crypto investors. Each board member gets a six-month term, and the members will be able to vote on future members.^[21]

Ape Foundation IP

Yuga Labs gifted APE Foundation a 1 of 1 NFT by Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club. The company conveyed all rights and privileges to this NFT and its underlying artwork to the APE Foundation and allowed the ApeCoin DAO to decide how to use this intellectual property.^[1][22]

The Board

The Foundation has a special body called the Board that executes the community’s visions. The APE Board comprises five members from the technology and crypto community. ApeCoin holders vote for new Board members annually, except for the initial Board that is in place for a shorter term of six months. When required, the ApeCoin DAO member can also vote to remove a member of the Board before the stipulated 6 months.^[1]

AIP-138: The Special Council Election Process

This proposal outlines a process for holding elections for the Special Council of the ApeCoin DAO. The goal is to ensure that all candidates have an equal and fair opportunity to be nominated for the election. The process will involve nominations and elections occurring every six months, with the nominated candidates starting their terms in January and July. The terms for each seat will last for one year and individuals may be re-elected for up to two terms in a row, but must then wait for one election cycle before being eligible for nomination again. The nomination and voting process will be conducted online and will involve a combination of community voting and approval by the current Special Council. The proposal also outlines rules for campaigning, including the use of social media, and for resolving disputes that may arise during the election process.^[23]

Current Board Members

Alexis Ohanian is an American entrepreneur and investor popularly known as the co-founder of Reddit. He is also the General Partner & Founder of Seven Seven Six.^[9]

Amy Wu is a Chinese-American content writer, investor, and head of Ventures & Gaming at FTX.^[10]

Maaria Bajwa is the Principal at Sound Ventures. She is a notable crypto investor with interests in Metaverse fashion.^[11]

Yat Siu is a HongKong based entrepreneur and an angel investor serving as the Co-founder & Chairman of Animoca Brands.^[12]

Dean Steinbeck is the President & General Counsel at Horizen Labs. Dean advises Horizen on legal matters and compliance.^[13]