ApeCoin is for the web3 economy.

Culture has found new expression in web3 through art, gaming, entertainment, and events. The possibilities for blockchain’s impact on culture are so endless that they can’t possibly all be predicted yet. APE is a token made to support what’s next, controlled and built on by the community. It will serve as a decentralized protocol layer for community-led initiatives that drive culture forward into the metaverse.

The APE Foundation

The APE Foundation is the steward of ApeCoin. It is not an overseer, but the base layer on which ApeCoin holders in the ApeCoin DAO can build.

The Foundation facilitates decentralized and community-led governance and is designed to become more decentralized over time. It is tasked with administering the decisions of the ApeCoin DAO, and is responsible for day-to-day administration, bookkeeping, project management, and other tasks that ensure the DAO community’s ideas have the support they need to become a reality.

The goal of the APE Foundation is to steward the growth and development of the APE ecosystem in a fair and inclusive way. It utilizes the Ecosystem Fund, which is controlled by a multisig wallet, to pay its expenses as directed by the ApeCoin DAO and provides an infrastructure for ApeCoin holders to collaborate through open and permissionless governance processes.

The DAO

ApeCoin DAO exists because decentralized governance is critical to building and managing a globally dispersed community—and therefore critical to the success of the APE ecosystem.

The APE Improvement Proposal Process (see Governance) will allow ApeCoin DAO members to make decisions regarding Ecosystem Fund allocations, governance rules, projects, partnerships, and beyond. ApeCoin DAO membership is open to all ApeCoin holders.

The Board

The Special Council of the APE Foundation provides, at the behest of the ApeCoin DAO members, stewardship and oversight of the APE Foundation. The Special Council members exist to serve the vision of ApeCoin DAO.

It does this by the following, though they are not limited to the items listed below:

Conducting detailed administrative reviews of AIPs according to the process outlined in AIP-1
Ensuring the implementation of the ApeCoin DAO’s intentions and wishes as manifested through approved AIPs
Safeguarding and stewarding the ApeCoin DAO treasury
Serving as primary community liaisons with the APE Foundation and its service providers in Cayman Islands, facilitating open and effective communication channels
Overseeing the APE Foundation administrators and other service providers, ensuring they execute their duties with efficiency and timeliness, aligned with the ApeCoin DAO's objectives and values.

ApeCoin Protocol

ApeCoin is an ERC-20 governance and utility token used within the APE ecosystem to empower a decentralized community building at the forefront of web3.

As the open-source protocol layer of the ecosystem, ApeCoin serves several purposes:


Governance	ApeCoin is the ecosystem’s governance token, allowing ApeCoin holders to participate in ApeCoin DAO.
Unification of Spend	ApeCoin is the ecosystem’s utility token, giving all its participants a shared and open currency that can be used without centralized intermediaries.
Access	ApeCoin provides access to certain parts of the ecosystem that are otherwise unavailable, such as exclusive games, merch, events, and services.
Incentivization	ApeCoin is a tool for third-party developers to participate in the ecosystem by incorporating APE into services, games, and other projects.

ApeCoin Allocation

The total supply of ApeCoin is permanently fixed at 1 billion tokens. No minting capability is exposed through the contract interface, thus the total supply will never increase. Similarly, the contract interface does not expose any token burning capability, so the total supply will never decrease.

In line with the standard practice, a portion of the tokens for contributors to the project will be initially locked. Locked tokens will be unlocked over a period of 48 months, in accordance with the predetermined unlock schedule in the chart below, starting on launch day, March 17, 2022.

ApeCoin will be distributed among four main groups, as detailed in the chart below. Wallets holding tokens alloted to the DAO treasury and resources can be viewed here.

62%

Ecosystem Fund

BAYC/MAYC NFT holders and treasury/resources

150,000,000 tokens to BAYC/MAYC

All unlocked for claim at launch

470,000,000 tokens to DAO treasury and resources

117,500,000 unlocked at launch, then 7,343,750 unlocked per month for 48 months

16%^*

Yuga Labs + Charity

The company behind BAYC and continuing contributor

*6.25% worth of Yuga Labs holdings are being donated to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation.

150,000,000 tokens to Yuga Labs

Initial lock-up 12 months, then 4,166,666.67 unlocked per month for 36 months

10,000,000 tokens or equal value donated to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation

Initial lock-up 12 months, then 277,777.78 tokens unlocked per month for 36 months

14%

Launch Contributors

The companies and people that helped make this project a reality

140,000,000 tokens to launch contributors. Lockup schedules vary by contributor but fall into one of the following:

• 10,000,000 tokens upfront, 25,000,000 after 6 months, 25,000,000 after 12 months, and 25,000,000 after 18 months

• Initial lock-up for 12 months, then 757,575.76 unlocked per month for 33 months

• Initial lock-up for 12 months, then 833,333.33 unlocked per month for 36 months

BAYC Founders

The ones who put the Ape in ApeCoin, the four founders of Yuga Labs and BAYC

80,000,000 tokens to founders of Yuga Labs

Initial lock-up for 12 months, then 2,222,222.22 unlocked per month for 36 months

ApeCoin Claiming for BAYC and MAYC Holders

Tokens will be allocated to BAYC/MAYC members via the claim page starting on March 17, 2022 at 8:30AM ET.

To ensure a fair launch of ApeCoin to BAYC and MAYC NFT holders, the allocation is informed by the difference in floor price between each collection of NFTs, roughly the month prior to the token claim launch (02/07/22 to 03/08/22). Each Bored Ape or Mutant Ape NFT that has a companion Bored Ape Kennel Club NFT will be able to claim the amount of ApeCoin specified below.

NFT	ApeCoin Allocated Per NFT or NFT Pair
Bored Ape only	10,094 tokens
Mutant Ape only	2,042 tokens
Bored Ape + Kennel Club (token IDs do not need to match)	10,950 tokens
Mutant Ape + Kennel Club (token IDs do not need to match)	2,898 tokens

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. In order to check whether a certain BAYC, MAYC (or companion BAKC) has claimed its tokens, use the below checker.

There will be Ethereum network gas fees incurred to claim ApeCoin.

How it works

15% of the total ApeCoin token supply allocated to BAYC/MAYC holders for claim will be transferred to a smart contract. Ownership of the contract will be transferred to a multisig wallet, which will be responsible for:

initiating the BAYC/MAYC/BAKC claim period
ending the claim period 90 days after launch
taking ownership of all unclaimed APE tokens at the end of the claim period
transferring these unclaimed tokens to the Coinbase Custody wallets that constitute the Ecosystem Fund

The airdrop claim tokens associated with any NFT can only be claimed once. In order to check whether a certain BAYC, MAYC (or BAYC or MAYC with a companion BAKC) has claimed its tokens, use the NFT checker:

Use the NFT Checker

APE Foundation IP

The APE Foundation was gifted a 1 of 1 NFT by Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club. You can see it here. Yuga Labs has conveyed all rights and privileges to this NFT and its underlying artwork to the APE Foundation. The ApeCoin DAO can decide how this intellectual property is used.

FAQ

Who/what are the different entities and names, and how do they relate to each other?

Yuga Labs - Yuga Labs is a web3 company best known for the creation of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. It will be a community member in the ApeCoin DAO and will adopt APE as the primary token across new projects.
BAYC - The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of digital art crafted into NFTs where the token itself doubles as a membership to a swamp club for apes.
APE Foundation - The APE Foundation is the steward of ApeCoin, a legal entity that exists to administer the decisions of the ApeCoin DAO.
ApeCoin DAO - A decentralized governance organization that will make decisions regarding Ecosystem Fund allocations, governance rules, projects, partnerships, and more. ApeCoin DAO membership is open to all ApeCoin holders.
APE - The symbol for ApeCoin token.

Does the Foundation control ApeCoin and/or the ApeCoin DAO? If not, what role do they play?

The Foundation does not control ApeCoin or the ApeCoin DAO. The Foundation consists of an administrative Board, which exists solely to oversee the decisions of the ApeCoin DAO, as well as a third party project management team in charge of ensuring ApeCoin DAO decisions are implemented.

A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is the best way to give every member of the community a vote on important decisions whether it's a technical upgrade or a decision to fund a new idea. However, the reality is that today a DAO cannot sign a lease or hire people or make merch or whatever the community decides to do on its own. The Foundation is responsible for the day-to-day administration, bookkeeping, project management, and other tasks that ensure the ApeCoin DAO community’s ideas have the support they need to become a reality.

How was the Foundation Board selected?

Certain members of the community that have strong operational experience were consulted on how to best structure the ApeCoin DAO. Several of these members voiced their willingness to join the Board to oversee the decisions of the community and are committed to upholding and furthering the decentralization of the ApeCoin DAO. The initial Board will serve 6 months.

Will there be a chance for other individuals to join the Board?

Yes. DAO members vote biannually to keep eligible existing Board members, or appoint new Board members. ApeCoin token holders (the DAO members) can also remove or replace a Board member at any time with a majority “In favor” vote. AIP-137 and AIP-138 outline the Board nomination and election processes.

What role does Yuga Labs play in all of this?

Yuga Labs is a contributor to the APE Ecosystem and will assist in the creation of products and experiences for the ecosystem as a whole.

What will the charitable donation to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation be used for?

The donation will help secure an invested endowment for the JGLF, helping to fund projects including:

Long-term research at the Gombe Stream Research Center in Western Tanzania (which been conducted continuously for more than six decades)
Lake Tanganyika Catchment Reforestation and Education (TACARE), community-centered conservation that preserves chimp habitats in six African countries
Conservation science that explores, innovates, and discovers new solutions, technologies and tools to protect the environment and wildlife
Roots & Shoots, a program active in 60+ countries that empowers young people (kindergarten through university) to become involved in hands-on projects for people, animals, and the environment

How were the token allotments for BAYC, MAYC, and BAKC NFT holders calculated?

The allotment of ApeCoin to NFT holders was a ratio based on the average floor price of BAYC and MAYC from roughly the month prior to launch (02/07/22 to 03/08/22).

Why don’t those with only BAKC NFTs get a token allotment?

BAKC NFTs are companion NFTs to BAYC and MAYC, meaning they don’t have utility on their own, only when paired with a BAYC or MAYC.