YugaLabs Plans to Drop ApeCoin to Expand Its Crypto Economy

YugaLabs, the startup behind the prominent NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), announced on Wednesday that it is planning to drop its very own ApeCoin following a new partnership with a play-to-earn gaming title. Through its own token, the company hopes to build a mainstream crypto economy around its IP which expanded just last week after it acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from Larva Labs.

The startup hopes to “adopt ApeCoin as the primary token for all new products and services.” But according to press materials, ApeCoin will be owned and operated by ApeCoin DAO, which has distanced itself from the BAYC collection to ensure regulatory compliance. NFTs that offer long-term members with perks would start to mirror investment contracts that are overseen by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The general industry, however, still falls outside the purview of the SEC.

“Introducing ApeCoin ($APE), a token for culture, gaming, and commerce used to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3,” tweeted the ApeCoin account. ApeCoin DAO is made up of council members that are not necessarily employees or executives of YugaLabs but are involved in the project to oversee its governance. So far, the council is comprised of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, FTX’s Amy Wu, Maaria Bajwa from Sound Ventures, Yat Siu from Animoca, and Dean Steinbeck from Horizen Labs.

The APE Foundation is also expected to be established, which will administer the decisions of the ApeCoin DAO. YugaLabs is “gifting” ApeCoin DAO with a 1/1 NFT of a blue Bored Apes logo to allow it to carry the official branding of the BAYC. A trademark has been filed for the coin, suggesting that the DAO has plans of selling physical merchandise alongside virtual goods.

The ApeCoin Twitter account noted that 62% of the token’s total supply will be allocated to the ApeCoin community, 15% of which will be available to claim in an airdrop scheduled on March 17.

Sources: CoinDesk, TechCrunch