ApeCoin price prediction: What next for the BAYC token?
ApeCoin is currently in the news after a metaverse demo. What’s next for this speculative asset?
Contents
- What is ApeCoin (APE)?
- Tokenomics
- ApeCoin’s performance so far…
- ApeCoin price prediction – expert opinion
- FAQs
The non-fungible token (NFT) industry has boomed over the past year. NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club, which was launched in April 2021 by savvy marketeers Yuga Labs, has seen its collection of 10,000 digital images far outstrip its competitors’ in value.
With a floor price (the lowest price of any NFT within a certain category) of 72ETH, the cheapest of the digital assets is currently worth more than $133,000. The collection has now become notorious within the still-nascent NFT industry.
Looking to capitalise on the success of its NFT collection, as well as entering into the play-to-earn gaming market, the NFT collection’s creators recently launched a token called ApeCoin.
The increasing dominance of the NFT market by Yuga Labs has only become more acute since the start-up acquired the intellectual property of the highly successful CryptoPunks and Meebits NFT collections from Larva Labs in March.
In response to the acquisition the co-founders of Larva Labs, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, said: “Yuga Labs are the best in the world at what they do and are the ideal stewards of the CryptoPunks and Meebits. In their hands, we are confident that they will continue to be vital, thriving projects in the emerging decentralised web.”
ApeCoin, despite having only launched on 17 March 2022, has drawn a vast amount of attention. But how will this affect an ApeCoin price prediction?
Before taking a look at any forecasts, first let’s perform a quick overview of the coin.
What is ApeCoin (APE)?
According to the ApeCoin website, the token has been developed for the Web3 economy. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, the token will be “used within the APE ecosystem to empower a decentralised community building at the forefront of Web3”.
ApeCoin also wants to use the APE ecosystem to develop digital gaming, entertainment and art, claiming that the “possibilities for blockchain’s impact on culture are so endless that they can’t possibly all be predicted yet”.
Led by the Ape Foundation, Yuga Labs purports to have structured the governance of the ecosystem as a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO). ApeCoin token holders can allegedly vote on future developments to the ecosystem.
Yuga Labs will become a community member in the DAO and will adopt APE as the primary token across new projects.
DAO members can vote on a special council, called the board, that will oversee the foundation. Council members initially announced by the project include Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, FTX’s Amy Wu and Horizen Labs’ Dean Steinbeck, but do not include any members of Yuga Labs.
ApeCoin, which is the ecosystem’s governance token, will also allow holders access to exclusive events, products and services.
Tokenomics
According to its website, ApeCoin will be distributed between an ecosystem fund (62%), Yuga Labs (16%), launch contributors (14%) and the founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (8%).
Although Yuga Labs is not officially launching the coin, the way the tokenomics have been structured means that between them, Yuga Labs and the founders of BAYC will hold nearly a quarter of the token’s supply.
While the exact offerings or games that the platform aims to develop remain unclear, the coin has garnered extensive market traction. But how will this affect an ApeCoin price prediction for 2022 and beyond?
Before examining forecasts, let’s review the coin’s price history so far.
ApeCoin’s performance so far…
The APE token was launched on 17 March 2022. According to CoinMarketCap, trading began at $20.45 at around 12:35 GMT. However, within an hour the price had fallen to a low of $6.48 – and it continued to trade sideways between that price and $9.35 for the rest of the afternoon.
With some centralised exchanges claiming ApeCoin had lost 80% within a few hours of its launch, the large discrepancies in APE’s price unsettled many investors.
However, the price of newly listed tokens is often volatile during the initial price discovery periods, so it’s difficult to know if transactions actually happened at these levels. In the initial time span since the first airdrop, Binance reported a high of $28 on the minute of the airdrop from its one-minute chart, while Gate showed an unbelievably high $214 on the same minute. According to CoinMarketCap, the token launched at around $20.40, but within an hour fell to $6.48.
In late March, a funding round led by VC powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz brought Yuga’s valuation up to a whopping $4bn. The coin regained some market traction and opened April 2022 at $12.80, and saw a marked uptrend.
The surges came hot on the heels of Robinhood APE listing rumours. David Gokhshtein, entrepreneur and founder of Gokhshtein Media, posted the following on Twitter:
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Yuga has announced plans to reshape the still-formative metaverse space and is set to offer more products and features, including games and functions in DeFi.
More positive developments were to come later, when Yuga Labs announced it would be launching an “Otherside metaverse”:
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On 28 April, the coin was trading at $26.91, a new all-time high. However, the price then retreated substantially, hitting a low of $3.09 on 15 June, but has largely been on an uptrend since.
Ape released a demo of its Otherside metaverse, towards the end of July, prompting another price spike. The token closed on 31 July at an impressive $6.72. At the time of writing on 18 August 2022, the token is trading at $6.23.
Analysts at FXStreet had expressed concern over the current trading environment but remain hopeful about the future of APE, stating: “ApeCoin price is taking a breather slightly above $6.20 after its uptrend got rejected from the selling pressure buildup around $7.50. Support at $6.00 will confirm stability in the market and create a conducive environment for investors to get back in the game and push for the much-awaited ascent to $10.00 and $20.00, respectively.”
There is a current maximum supply of one billion coins and a current circulating supply of around 307 million APE (31%).
So, what are the implications of this on an ApeCoin price prediction?
ApeCoin price prediction – expert opinion
Do bear in mind that digital forecasters use algorithms to make their predictions. While useful as a reference, they do not take into account certain fundamental factors and external market volatility. Checking forecasters’ APE price predictions should be just one element of your investment due diligence. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and your investments are at risk.
DigitalCoinPrice suggests a value of $8.37 in September. The site forecasts an average value of $9.00 in 2023 and $9.60 in 2024. The site’s ApeCoin price prediction for 2025 stands at $11.93. While it forecasts that this will then fall to $11.13 in 2026, DigitalCoinPrice suggests a general year-on-year uptrend, leading to an ApeCoin price prediction for 2030 of $28.66.
Gov Capital makes an APE price prediction of $7.72 at the end of September. The site also suggests the coin will be worth $23.88 in one year’s time and $177.26 in five years’ time.
PricePrediction forecasts a value of $7.71 for the month of September and $8.50 in December 2022. The site forecasts an average value of $26.34 in 2025 and $170.50 in 2030.
FAQs
How many ApeCoins are there?
There is a maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 coins and a current circulating supply of about 307 million APE (31%).
Is ApeCoin a good investment?
Potentially. Yuga Labs has become a major player in the NFT scene and it has managed to secure some big names in the crypto space. Its development of a new metaverse has undoubtedly attracted the attention of investors.
Saying this, it is very early days so it’s hard to predict, once the launch hype dies down, whether the coin has staying power.
It’s also wise to remember that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets and that analysts’ forecasts can often be wrong. You should always carry out your own research before making any investment.
Will ApeCoin go up?
On the day of its launch, the price of ApeCoin fell sharply before trading up to an all-time high. Since then the token has retreated in value. Many algorithmic forecasters are bullish, but analysts at FXStreet remain cautious at this point.
Should I invest in ApeCoin?
Investing is a highly personal endeavour. You should do your own research and keep up to date on any developments in the ApeCoin ecoystem that could boost or harm its prospects.
Remember, investing can be risky. That is why you should always conduct your own research, and never invest money that you cannot afford to lose.
