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APE Token Tied to Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Sinks 80% in Opening Hours

The ApeCoin token airdropped to Bored Ape NFT owners is off to a rough start, falling from $39.40 to as low as $6.48.

(Bored Ape Yacht Club, modified by CoinDesk)
(Bored Ape Yacht Club, modified by CoinDesk)

UPDATE (March 18, 15:32 UTC): Bored Ape Yacht Club’s ApeCoin Surges 90% on Second Day of Trading


ApeCoin, the token linked to the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collection, is down about 80% in its first two hours of trading.

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The token was airdropped to Bored Ape NFT owners this morning after being announced yesterday as a part of a larger ApeDAO campaign, but holders quickly selling the coin have sent its price plummeting.

The token has fallen from its highest price of $39.40 to a now stable $8.90, trading for as low as $6.48, according to CoinMarketCap. The total market cap for the token now sits at a whopping $2.4 billion, making it currently the 49th-largest coin.

If earlier airdrops are any indication, however, that ranking isn’t likely to stick.

Owners of Bored Ape NFTs were airdropped 10,000 ApeCoins a piece, with 15% of the total supply being available to claim this morning.

Of the remaining supply, 47% will be sent to the Ape DAO treasury, 16% to parent company Yuga Labs, 8% to the BAYC founders and 14% to launch contributors.

The floor price for a Bored Ape NFT briefly fell to 79 ETH (roughly $220,000) following the airdrop but has since rebounded to 90 ETH (roughly $250,000).

Read more: Token Linked to Bored Ape Yacht Club Launches


More from CoinDesk on Bored Ape Yacht Club and NFTs:

Bored Ape Yacht Club Creators in Funding Talks With Andreessen Horowitz: Report

  • The startup is seeking a valuation of as much as $5 billion in the proposed funding round.

The First NFT Monopoly

  • With Bored Apes and CryptoPunks under the same corporate roof, the NFT market barrels toward further centralization.

What's the Most Profitable NFT Strategy: Buying at Mint or Later?

  • In the world of digital art, one of the few constants is the “fear of missing out” on the next major project. But is there a right time to buy an NFT to increase your chance of making a profit?

Eli Tan

Eli was a news reporter for CoinDesk who covered NFTs, gaming and the metaverse. He graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in English. He holds ETH, SOL, AVAX and a few NFTs above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1000.

Eli Tan