ApeCoin to connect new products, projects, marketplaces, DAOs, virtual worlds and more to top web3 community
March 16, 2022 (5pm ET) – Today, ApeCoin DAO is launching ApeCoin (APE), a cryptocurrency with community as its primary driving force. APE is a token for culture, gaming, and commerce that the community owns and can build on.
ApeCoin DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), where each token holder can vote on how the organization will be governed. A special council will carry out the decisions of the community, run by some of the most forward-thinking leaders and veterans in web3, gaming, and technology, including: Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit; general partner and founder of Seven Seven Six), Amy Wu (head of ventures and gaming at FTX), Maaria Bajwa (principal at Sound Ventures), Yat Siu (co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands), and Dean Steinbeck (president and general counsel at Horizen Labs).
Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), will adopt ApeCoin as the primary token for all new products and services, including an in-development play-to-earn blockchain game from BAYC and nWay coming later this year. Starting tomorrow, ApeCoin will also have utility in Animoca Brands’ popular game Benji Bananas.
“Today we’re making the ‘Club’ bigger with ApeCoin,” said Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, Initialized, and Seven Seven Six, and special council member of the ApeCoin DAO. “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.”
ApeCoin DAO and APE Token
Yuga Labs gifted ApeCoin DAO a one-of-one NFT featuring a blue version of the Bored Ape Yacht Club logo. This NFT conveys along with it all rights and privileges of the logo’s intellectual property to the ApeCoin DAO. The ApeCoin DAO will decide how the IP is used.
“The community’s been wanting ApeCoin for a long time now, so we’re excited to see it come to life through community ownership,” says Nicole Muniz, CEO of Yuga Labs. “Yuga Labs will continue to be builders of products and experiences that bring new ideas and energy to the table.”
“Animoca Brands is excited to tap into the energy of the BAYC community and make APE purchases available right away in Benji Bananas,” said Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands. “The gaming world is changing along with web3 innovation, and I’m thrilled to have a front row seat and to help the community as a special council member of the ApeCoin DAO.”
APE will be distributed among four main groups, with the APE ecosystem owning the majority of the one billion tokens. On March 17, 2022 owners of Bored Ape or Mutant Ape NFTs will receive 15 percent of the total token allocation via an airdrop claim. The amount of tokens will depend on the club (BAYC or MAYC) as well as whether the NFT is paired with a Bored Ape Kennel Club NFT. The remaining tokens will be allocated across project launch contributors, Yuga Labs and its founders, and a donation to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation. For a detailed breakdown of token allocations, please visit the ApeCoin DAO website.
ApeCoin is an ERC-20 governance and utility token used within the APE Ecosystem to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3. As the open-source protocol layer of the ecosystem, ApeCoin serves several purposes:
Governance – ApeCoin is the Ecosystem’s governance token, allowing ApeCoin holders to participate in ApeCoin DAO.
Unification of Spend – ApeCoin is the Ecosystem’s utility token, giving all its participants a shared and open currency that can be used without centralized intermediaries.
Access – ApeCoin provides access to certain parts of the Ecosystem that are otherwise unavailable, like exclusive games and services.
Incentivization – ApeCoin is a tool for third-party developers to participate in the ecosystem by incorporating APE into services, games, and other projects.
For more information on ApeCoin DAO and its governance structure, please visit: www.apecoin.com.
About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands is a global leader in gamification and blockchain with a large portfolio of investments in companies and decentralized projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse. The company and its various subsidiaries develop and publish blockchain games, traditional games, and other products, many of which are based on popular global brands including Disney, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, Formula E, and Doraemon. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com.
About nWay
nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is a San Francisco-based developer, publisher, and tech platform for play-to-earn (P2E) games across mobile, PC, and consoles. The company has a strong track record of developing AAA quality games on mobile and on console, such as Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, and ChronoBlade. For more information visit www.nway.com.