This late March 2022, ApeCoin, a token linked to the famous Bored Ape Yacht CLub (BAYC) NFT project was airdropped to holders. Ape holders had the option to claim it for free. After claiming they could either sell for a profit or hold. Some lucky ape holders made tens of thousands of dollars by cashing in the airdrops. This brought a buzz around the already mega-successful BAYC project. Currently the number 1 NFT collection in the world, ApeCoin was made to create a new social ecosystem for BAYC holders and the ever-growing APE ecosystem.
In this blog, we will explore ApeCoin and all other BAYC airdrop projects.
First, what is the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)?
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a collection of 10,000 images of funky-looking apes minted as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain; each unique and none under 95 ETH ($288,000). It is one of the most influential NFT projects in the world; second only to CryptoPunks, especially when it comes to PFP (profile picture) projects.
There are 10,00 of these ape images; each one different from the other and hence not interchangeable. Each NFT has its unique traits such as clothing, headwear, expression, and more. And, each Bored Ape gives its owner membership to the club and grants access to some benefits that are dedicated to the selected few. Just as other NFTs on Ethereum, these are stored as ERC-721 tokens.
With the acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits, the creators of BAYC, Yuga Labs seem to be on the top of the world. Yuga Labs focuses on creating a community-focused business that looks to create more utilities for NFT holders. So this isn’t the first time they launched new NFT collections and airdropped most to holders.
ApeCoin
The ApeCoin token hit the market in late March of 2022. Owners of Bored Ape NFTs were airdropped 10,000 ApeCoins a piece (valued anywhere between $80,000 to $200,000). The number of Ape token were allocated as:
- 10,094 tokens if you only own OG (Bored) Ape
- 2,042 tokens if you own a Mutant Ape
- 10,950 tokens if you own both a Bored Ape + Kennel Club
- 2,898 tokens if you own both a Mutant Ape + Kennel Club
The token was launched with close to 30% in circulation (out of the 1 billion tokens that can ever be minted). 15% of the total supply was available to claim. Of the remaining supply, 47% was allotted to the Ape DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) treasury, 16% to Yuga Labs, 8% to the BAYC founders and 14% to launch contributors. The supply of the token will unlock regularly over a 48-month period.
Airdropped tokens are often volatile at first because of profit-taking, speculation and liquidity issues. Immediately after the airdrop, ApeCoin was listed on nearly every well-known crypto exchange and traded for around $10.30. As of April, it trades at around $12.2. The 15% airdrop combined with the added privileges of being an ApeCoin holder jumpstarted intense FOMO in speculators.
ApeCoin will initially be used as an in-game token for Yuga Labs starting with the mobile games Benji Bananas. In the future, it will be used to fund various digital and physical projects. Each ApeCoin token also serves as membership in the Ape DAO. the DAO oversees the governance of the ApeCoin token. Holders of the token will also receive premium utilities, especially when combined with the underlying NFTs.
Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC)
It gets lonely in the swamp sometimes. That’s why every ape should have a four-legged companion. To curl up at your feet. To bring you a beer. To fire a missile launcher at that fucking monkey Jimmy.
That’s why we’ve started the Bored Ape Kennel Club, and why we’re offering up a dog for adoption to every single member of the BAYC – for free (you only pay gas).
June 2021, BAYC announced that each Ape NFT holder could receive an NFT airdrop corresponding to their own Ape number. The Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) comprises 10,000 Club Dog NFTs, which NFT holders were able to claim for free (only paying gas fees). Limited to one week only, one could claim a dog for each Bored Ape they owned. At the time of adoption, the dogs were unrevealed. Only a week after the adoption, a randomized starting index was set and everyone got their pets.
Each BAKC is an ERC-721 token on the Ethereum blockchain and hosted on IPFS. Every dog in the Kennel Club is unique and programmatically generated from over 170 possible traits. Some traits are rarer than others.
And the drop was an instant hit. The BAYC community claimed 9600 Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs, just 400 shy of the total supply. Even before the dogs were revealed, there were offers for as much as 1 ETH for a dog. As of the time of writing, the floor price sits at 7.15 ETH ($21.6k).
The BAYC NFTs sold out quickly after the initial mint and saw ever-rising secondary sales on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. However, Yuga Labs had more collections up its sleeves. The Mutant Ape Yacht Club had always been a part of the Bored Ape road map and was set to launch after 100% of BAYC NFTs were sold.
Thus, Yuga Labs created 20,000 mutant apes. The thousand of them would reward the Bored Ape owners with new creatures based on the traits of their original apes. And the other ten thousand were meant to invite new people into the Bored Ape club. The latter 10,000 pieces were sold via a “dutch auction”.
Yuga Labs airdropped 10,000 serums to BAYC owners in August of 2021. Bored ape serums are an NFT that mutates the apes. To mutate a Bored Ape with a serum, you must have both a Bored Apt NFT and a serum NFT in your wallet. The serum can only be used once and will “burn” once used. And a Bored Ape that has been mutated cannot use another serum of the same tier.
There were tiers of these serums: 7,500 M1 serums, 2,492 M2 serums, and eight Mega Mutant or M3 serums. M1 and M2 serums make only a slight difference in the Apes. But the M3 serums are the rarest ones and make a huge difference in making an Ape scarce and hence more valuable. These existing eight serums are incredibly rare and become even more so as users burn serums by mutating the Apes.