ApeCoin (APE-USD) is easily one of the biggest successes in crypto this year. It only took hours for the token to rake in billions in market capitalization, levering it immediately into the 50 largest cryptos on the planet. In a milestone-packed month of existence, ApeCoin has become one of the most-talked-about names on the market. Today, though, the APE crypto is celebrating a seriously impressive mark; it has surpassed some of the largest metaverse players in the industry.
The ApeCoin network first cropped up in mid-March as a response to the success of Yuga Labs’ non-fungible token (NFT) collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). When it launched last year, BAYC was an immediate hit, rapidly becoming one of the largest NFT collections in the world. As it stands now, the project is the second-highest trading NFT collection ever, only beaten by CryptoPunks. Yuga obtained the rights to CryptoPunks earlier this year.
BAYC sets itself apart by encouraging investors to get the most out of their tokens. To allow for this, Yuga Labs decentralizes ownership of the collection in unique ways. For example, when one buys a token, they obtain the full intellectual property of the art, allowing users to do anything they want with it. This has lead to some interesting use cases, including a Bored Ape-themed restaurant. The APE crypto is another way of decentralizing BAYC.
ApeCoin Further Decentralizes BAYC
ApeCoin was founded by a grip of crypto industry leaders from companies like FTX and Animoca Brands. The project even sees leadership from Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who has recently made a point to further entrench his investments in the crypto space.
The token is not a Yuga Labs project. Rather, its founders joined together of their own accord, creating APE to supplement the BAYC community with a crypto not actually ruled by BAYC developers.
ApeCoin’s developers have enjoyed the full support and cooperation of Yuga Labs, however. In fact, the company sees the token’s launch as a big step forward in decentralizing the ecosystem. APE exists as a transactional currency for BAYC projects, as well as a governance token, allowing any holders to use their holdings to vote on community proposals.
Yuga Labs has pledged to utilize APE as the mainstay currency of the ecosystem. It has even made APE the official currency for future merch drops and other expansion projects. More importantly, though, Yuga Labs announced its first major expansion project in late March: the Otherside metaverse. The company intends to underlie Otherside with ApeCoin as well.
APE Becomes Biggest Metaverse Crypto, Rockets Past Decentraland and Sandbox
This announcement has sent APE prices soaring. Users seem to be excited that the token will be utilized for such a huge, hyped-up project. More recent announcements have catalyzed even greater gains. For instance, when Yuga Labs announced that Otherside’s initial land auction will take place on April 30, the token saw a rush of volume and sizable price hikes.
Obviously, APE holders are thrilled to see the token become a big-time metaverse crypto. Trading volumes have stayed north of $1.5 billion since Yuga first announced the land sale. Prices also continue to climb; APE has gained nearly 50% in the last week. These volumes have played a huge role in driving ApeCoin’s market cap over $6 billion.
This is a jaw-dropping value for a project that’s roughly a month old. And it’s even more impressive knowing APE launched without any developmental assistance from Yuga itself. As of now, ApeCoin is the 23rd-largest crypto in the world. It’s also now the largest metaverse-dedicated crypto in the world, having surpassed both Decentraland (MANA-USD) and The Sandbox (SAND-USD) in market cap.
That is massive news for a few reasons. MANA and SAND are easily the most renowned metaverses in the subindustry. When metaverse cryptos first came into the public eye back in the fall, these two cryptos led the charge, rocketing to the top of the list. For APE to surpass both is impressive in and of itself. Now, supplement that with the fact ApeCoin is only weeks old — and that its metaverse isn’t even out yet.
Clearly, this is an astonishing feat. And of course, APE has broad implications for its success. Now leading the industry, it will become a first choice for many curious investors looking to get into the metaverse. ApeCoin transactions and prices should continue to soar as the crypto steals the spotlight.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
