ApeCoin Up 31% As Stakes Approach, Bored Ape NFT Rates Back

ApeCoin (APE), the Ethereum-based token made for growing Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem, outperforming most major cryptocurrencies over the past week. It is now up 31% over the past seven days, with the increase coming ahead of the launch of ApeCoin staking rewards.

The token is currently priced at $4.15, per data from CoinGeckoand has rebounded since hitting a record low of $2.63 on November 14 amid the fallout from collapse of crypto exchange FTX. ApeCoin is up nearly 58% since its lows.

Over the past week, only three other coins or tokens in the top 100 (ranked by market capitalization) have posted bigger gains—including leading meme coin Dogecoin.

November 23, Horizen Labs announced updated launch details for ApeCoin staking, which will give APE holders—as well as Bored Ape and Mutant Monkey NFT owners – token rewards for staking their owned tokens. Horizen will launch the staking interface for users on December 5 ahead of rewards beginning on December 12.

Staking is a common process among cryptocurrencies that allows token holders to earn rewards by unlocking and holding assets using a specialized smart contract. Smart contracts are essentially the software that powers decentralized apps and NFT projects.

The announcement raised controversy on social media, however, as Horizen revealed that several territories will not be able to use its betting website due to regulatory concerns – including the US. Ape Foundation later suggested in a tweet thread via the official that potential solutions can be used in these regions.

“We want to remind the community that one of the benefits of decentralized finance is that anyone can interact with a smart contract,” the foundation tweeted, “or develop clients and interfaces that allow users to interact with smart contracts.”

Investors can accumulate APE before the launch with the hope of maximizing the stake emissions, which are usually highest at the beginning. Even after the rally in the last week, ApeCoin’s price is still down significantly – almost 85% since a peak in late April before the release of NFT plots for the upcoming Otherside metaverse game.

As ApeCoin rises, so do the prices for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. “Blue chip” collectibles have lost significant value over the past few months, like many other NFT projects in a increasingly chilly crypto winters.

The floor price for Bored Ape – or the price of the cheapest listed asset on a marketplace – has crashed from a high of $429,000 (152 ETH) on April 29, and fell below USD 60,000 worth of ETH on two occasions in November per data from NFT Price Floor.

That price has ticked upward again in the past week, rising from roughly $63,600 (57.5 ETH) on November 22nd to a current price of around $82,300 (68 ETH). In the process, Bored Ape Yacht Club has reversed the floor price again CryptoPunks– also owned by Yuga Labs – which currently sits at $79,800 (approx. 66 ETH).

Both Bored Apes and Mutant Apes have seen an approximate 34% increase in USD floor value over the past week, per NFT price floor. Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs are up to a current price of nearly $16,000 (13.2 ETH).

Much of the positive price momentum for both ApeCoin and Bored Ape NFTs has also come since last Wednesday’s launch of a official ApeCoin community NFT marketplace. The platform was developed by startup Snag Solutions following a poll of APE token holders, with the firm’s proposal beating pitches from major marketplaces such as Magic Eden and Rarible.