The $APE airdrop could be worth $100k? A quick calculation
Bored Ape Yacht Club finally introduced $APE. $APE is a token for culture, gaming, and commerce. It is used to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3, according to the official launch tweet.
How to claim $APE and how much you get as a holder
BAYC and MAYC holders can start claiming $APE from March 17, 8:30 AM ET (12:30 PM UTC) at https://apecoin.com/. The claim period is 90 days. Please note that if you only hold a BAKC (the dog), you will NOT be able to claim $APE. You need to pair a BAKC with a BAYC or MAYC.
The $APE amount to be claimed is the following.
A few extra notes:
There is no distinction between Mutant Ape types for the claim.
Ape + Kennel token IDs do not need to match to claim, nor does having the original pairing entitle any extra tokens.
This is a one-time claim that will identify all eligible NFTs in your wallet, in the order that they appear. There will not be an option to deselect an eligible NFT if it is present in your wallet. If you wish to claim for one of your NFTs but not another, you will need to move them to separate wallets.
A Bored Ape or Mutant Ape that has claimed its tokens cannot be used later to claim tokens for an accompanying Kennel Club. All paired NFTs must be claimed together at the same time.
Unused Bored Ape Chemistry Club serums do not qualify for token claim.
The airdrop claim tokens associated with any NFT can only be claimed once. (You can check whether a certain BAYC, MAYC (or companion BAKC) has claimed its tokens on the official website)
There will be Ethereum network gas fees incurred to claim $APE.
How much is $APE gonna be and how big is the airdrop
It is difficult to value $APE according to its own merits. It is not a share in Yuga Labs or Bored Ape Yacht Cub, so there is no future cash flow. There are some rough comparisons that one can make. For example, Decentraland ($MANA) has a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $5.5 billion, and Sandbox ($SAND) is at $9.7 billion. In the conservative scenario where $APE reaches a $5 billion FDV, $APE will be $5. The math is simple. I included several more reference points below.
At a floor price of 107 ETH, the total value of the 10,000 Bored Apes alone is ~$3 billion. But, once again, it must be pointed out that $APE does not represent ownership in or share revenue with Yuga Labs or any Bored Apes.
Only 27.75% of the total supply is unlocked at launch (more on tokenomics below). Given the hype around $APE and the fact that it will be listed on all major exchanges at launch, including Coinbase, FTX, eToro, Kraken, OKX, Gemini, FTX, Binance and Binance US, I will not be surprised to see $APE crosses the $25 mark.
In each of the following scenarios, how big is the check for ape holders? I also included the price for the apes. You still have several hours before the claim process begins.
Not bad, huh? In the ultra bullish scenario, you could get $250k from a $300k Ape in a few hours. Plus, you get into a club with DJ Khaled.
Source: BAYC Discord
ApeCoin DAO and Ape Foundation
$APE is managed by the ApeCoin DAO. Holding $APE is the only requirement for membership in the ApeCoin DAO. $APE holders can vote on governance and use of funds in the DAO.
The ApeCoin DAO is supported by Ape Foundation, which was created to act as the legal steward of $APE and administer the decisions made by the ApeCoin DAO community. The Ape Foundation initially has 5 board members.
Source: https://apecoin.com/about
The initial board serves a term of six months, after which ApeCoin DAO members will vote annually on board members.
$APE Use Cases
$APE is defined as a governance and utility token within the APE ecosystem (so that $APE could pass the Howey Test and avoid problems with the SEC).
Currently, $APE serves 4 purposes:
Governance: $APE allows holders to participate in the governance of the ApeCoin DAO.
Unification of Spend: $APE will be the official token in the APE ecosystem.
Access: similar to a Bored Ape serving as the yacht club membership card, $APE provides exclusive access to games, events, merch, etc.
Incentivization: third-parties can join the ecosystem by incorporating APE into their projects and services.
Two P2E Games
Two games have already announced that they will incorporate $APE.
Source: Twitter@Animoca Brands
Source: Twitter@nWayPlay
The first game, Benji Bananas is available to play on iOS and Android right now. According to its website, players will be able to purchase a membership pass with $APE.
Source: https://www.benjibananas.com/
I tried the game for several minutes. It's not addicting. But it's kinda fun. Being playable on iOS and Android already beats 99% of crypto p2e games after all.
Tokenomics
The total supply of $APE is 1 billion. There will be no minting or burning. So the supply will never increase or decrease.
The allocation of the 1 billion tokens is the following.
The total unlocked $APE at launch is 277,500,000, 27.75% of the total supply.
However, it is unclear what $APE offers besides governance and utility. As we know from the past, such tokens generally do not end well. Examples include $UNI and $ENS as well as NFT tokens like $MILK (Cool Cats) and $WRLD (NFT Worlds).
Ending
How $APE performs is critical for the future of NFTs, especially since Yuga Labs also acquired CryptoPunks and Meebits last Friday. But it is not mentioned whether CryptoPunks or Meebits will play a part in the $APE ecosystem. It seems that CryptoPunks and Meebits will remain as standalone historical collections.
Unlike Bobu, which represents frationalized ownership in Azuki #40, $APE is a purely governance and utility token. There is no value accrual mechanism for $APE at the moment. If Yuga Labs cannot create consistent demand for $APE, the best play with the $APE airdrop might be dumping them within the first few weeks while the price is still high.