How to Buy ApeCoin [The Ultimate Guide 2022]
The world has been undergoing a revolution, and the advent of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have been its harbingers. When Satoshi Nakamoto came up with the idea of Bitcoin in 2009, no one imagined the economic, societal, and cultural shift it would bring in a short period. While only the "geeks" and "nerds" were initially interested in it, it has since become the go-to place for the new generation across the globe. Cryptocurrencies have also attracted many significant institutions, governments, influential people, celebrities, etc. The technology has found a new vigor with the advent of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), with the Bored Ape Yacht Club among the most popular ones. The Bored Ape Yacht Club has launched ApeCoin (APE), its own cryptocurrency, and if you're looking to get your hands on these tokens with immense potential, then this guide is for you. Read on to learn where, why, and how to buy ApeCoin (APE).
Let's get right to it!
What Is ApeCoin
ApeCoin(APE) is the APE ecosystem's ERC-20 governance and utility token. It allows the ApeCoin holders to become members of the ApeCoin DAO and participate in decision-making. A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in crypto is like a venture capital fund comprised of crypto enthusiasts and investors. It differs from a conventional venture fund in that it's governed by computer codes or smart contracts to protect user autonomy and prevent centralization of power and control.
ApeCoin allows users to trade with each other using ApeCoin tokens without the need for any central authority. To learn more about DeFi and how it revolutionizes the financial world, go to the CoinStats guide to What Is DeFi.
ApeCoin tokens also give access to the ApeCoin ecosystem features, such as exclusive merchandise, games, services, events, etc. Moreover, ApeCoin incentivizes third-party developers to participate in the Ape ecosystem by incorporating APE tokens in their games, apps, services, etc.
ApeCoin History
The Bored Ape Yacht Club, commonly known as Bored Ape, is a collection of 10000 NFTs built on the Ethereum blockchain. Yuga Labs, the company behind it, launched the collection on April 23rd, 2021, with a live pre-sale. As of 2022, Bored Ape Yacht Club has totaled more than USD 1 billion in sales. Many prominent celebrities such as Justin Beiber, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Neymar, Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon, etc., have become proud members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club by purchasing these NFTs. The purchased NFTs also act as the Bored Ape Yacht Club membership card. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were listed for 0.08 ETH each and were sold out within a day of listing for around USD 190.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club was founded by four friends, with the pseudonyms Gargamel, Gordon Goner, No Sass, and Emperor Tomato. In February 2022, Gargamel and Gordon Goner were doxxed as Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow, respectively. They said they chose apes as the mascot for their NFTs due to the crypto-term "aping-in."
Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, has built a huge community of enthusiasts through events and airdropping new NFTs to its members, etc. Some of the other NFT projects under the umbrella of Yuga Labs are Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Kennel Club, Meebits, etc. Not all NFT holders have access to the Bored Ape Yacht Club, but only Mutant Apes and Bored Apes can enjoy it.
What Is the Ape Foundation
The Ape Foundation is decentralized in nature. It implements the ideas and decisions of the ApeCoin DAO and handles day-to-day DAO administration, proposal management, and "other tasks that ensure the DAO community’s ideas have the support they need to become a reality." It’s the legal backing for ApeCoin DAO, aiming to facilitate the fair and inclusive development of the APE ecosystem.
The ApeCoin DAO
The ApeCoin DAO is the new decentralized governing body in which all APE holders are members. It’s meant to field proposals from the community, including governance, partnerships, project development, etc., letting ApeCoin token holders vote on them. Moreover, the membership is not limited to voting rights; instead, any member can bring up any changes concerning the DAO and put it up for deliberations and voting. Irrespective of how many ApeCoin you hold, you can still become a member of the DAO and share your ideas. Therefore even if you have missed out on the Bored Ape NFTs, you can still become part of the DAO and the Ape ecosystem by getting your hands on the ApeCoin APE tokens. The tokens will let you trade and perform transactions within the ecosystem and give you voting power.
ApeCoin Tokenomics
According to Yuga Labs, there are a total of 1 billion tokens. The smart contract governing the DAO states that there is no more minting capacity; hence the total number of APE tokens is capped at 1 billion. The tokens can't be burnt to manipulate the price, so the token supply will neither increase nor decrease at any point in the future.
At their launch, 38 percent of the APE tokens were locked for different periods, and the remaining 62 percent were distributed amongst the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape Yacht Club members. Out of the locked 38 percent, 16 percent were allocated to Yuga Labs, of which a huge part was given to charity, 14 percent were distributed amongst the companies and people that helped make the project a reality, and the remaining 8 percent were distributed amongst the Bored Ape Yacht Club four founders.
There are presently only 292187500 APE tokens in circulation, i.e., around 29 percent of the total tokens available. At the time of writing, the market cap of the Ape token is USD 1.9 billion, according to data from CoinStats. The fully diluted market cap of APE tokens at the current price of USD 6.50 would be USD 6.5 billion. Over the past few months, the price has hit due to global factors such as wars, inflation, pandemic, and the worldwide confusion about crypto regulations and taxation. The ApeCoin price reached its all-time high of USD 22.59 on April 29th, 2022. So, if you're looking to buy APE, there is no better time than right now to get it on the cheaper side. While most markets and investors have optimistic ApeCoin price predictions for the near and far future, it should be kept in mind that crypto prices are highly volatile, and any ApeCoin price prediction should be taken with a grain of salt, and investment should be made after performing due diligence.
ApeCoin Markets
Now, let's look into the markets where you can buy ApeCoin APE. While ApeCoin was launched pretty recently, the demand for ApeCoin has been tremendous due to the popularity of the NFTs, i.e., Bored Apes NFTs, etc., in the ecosystem. So much so that while many major tokens and projects such as Dogecoin or Shiba Inu with massive communities had to wait to be listed on major exchanges, ApeCoin was listed on over 100s of crypto exchanges in a short period. Users can now choose between their favorite crypto exchanges to buy or sell ApeCoin. The most popular crypto exchange for ApeCoin in terms of trading volume is the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.
Now, let's learn how to buy ApeCoin on Binance and other cryptocurrency exchanges such as CoinBase, etc., to help you start buying ApeCoin right away.
How to Buy ApeCoin on Binance
Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, with a 24-hour trading volume of more than USD 15 billion. It's also the default cryptocurrency exchange for most people wishing to trade ApeCoin. What makes Binance so popular amongst cryptocurrency enthusiasts, investors, and traders is that it's super easy to use and supports a large number of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs. On top of that, it allows users to buy cryptocurrency using a bank transfer, credit/debit cards, peer-to-peer trading, etc. Follow our step-by-step guide below on how to buy ApeCoin instantly on Binance:
Create a Binance Account
To purchase ApeCoin, you need to register an account on Binance. If you are new to cryptocurrencies and don't have an account already, get started by creating an account on Binance using the Binance app on your mobile devices or the website on your desktop. You'll only need to provide a valid email address and phone number to create an account on Binance, but you can only trade once you complete your KYC verification. To complete your KYC, you need to provide a government-issued identity document and a selfie. The verification process usually takes between a few minutes to hours. After you get verified, you need to deposit funds for purchasing ApeCoin.
Deposit Funds
To buy ApeCoin, you need to deposit funds into your Binance account. Binance allows users to deposit fiat currencies, including and not limited to USD, EURO, INR, GBP, AUD, etc. Users can deposit these currencies using a simple bank transfer, credit or debit cards, third-party payments, etc.
Buy APE
Binance offers a lot of trading pairs for ApeCoin, including APE/USDT, APE/BUSD, APE/BTC, APE/ EUR, APE/ETH, APE/BNB, APE/TRY, etc. Once you've successfully added funds to your Binance account, go to the spot trading option and buy the asset against which you wish to buy ApeCoin. Suppose we choose the APE/USDT trading pair with the highest trading volume globally. So, to buy ApeCoin, you need to first buy USDT from the spot market for the amount you want to buy ApeCoin for. Users can also buy USDT through peer-to-peer trading. Once you've added USDT to your SPOT wallet on Binance, go to Spot trading, enter the amount of ApeCoin you want to buy, and place an order. The order will be completed within seconds, and you'll see the bought ApeCoin reflected in your spot wallet.
The process of selling ApeCoin on Binance is similar to that of buying ApeCoin. Similarly, you can trade not just ApeCoin but other cryptocurrency tokens with the same ease.
How to Buy ApeCoin on Coinbase
Coinbase is also one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. Just like Binance, Coinbase is also easy to use and supports a large number of cryptocurrencies, including ApeCoin. It lets users buy ApeCoin in exchange for many cryptocurrency tokens. While Coinbase's trading volume isn't as high as Binance's, it's still a popular choice amongst users due to its high security and ease of use. To buy ApeCoin on Coinbase, follow these easy steps.
Create a Coinbase Account
The first step is to create an account on Coinbase if you don't already have one. You need to provide a valid email address where a confirmation email will be sent. Once you've entered your basic information, you'll need to complete your KYC and set up two-step verification to keep your account and assets safe. The verification process is fast, and then you can start buying cryptocurrency tokens on Coinbase.
Link a Payment Method
After creating a Coinbase account, you'll need to link a payment method to deposit funds into your account. Coinbase supports different payment methods depending on your location, such as a bank transfer, credit or debit cards, etc. While Coinbase doesn't charge any transaction fees on a bank transfer, if you use it to buy ApeCoin or any other cryptocurrency, you won't be able to withdraw them for 5 days. There is a small transaction fee for wire transfers, but there is no waiting time for withdrawals.
Buy ApeCoin
After depositing funds into your Coinbase account, you need to click on "Withdraw," input the amount you want to buy ApeCoin, and go to "Trade" to select your market. Choose your trading pair, i.e., APE-USD, input the amount of APE you wish to buy, and click "Purchase." The order will be placed and fulfilled within seconds, and the APE tokens will be reflected in your Coinbase Wallet.
As you can see, it's straightforward to trade ApeCoin on Coinbase, and you can get your hands on ApeCoin in a few easy steps.
Buy ApeCoin on Other Cryptocurrency Exchanges
Some other major cryptocurrency exchanges you can buy ApeCoin are Kucoin, Huobi Global, BitMEX, etc. To buy APE on any of these exchanges is as easy as it was on Binance and Coinbase. Most exchanges provide leverage trading to experienced.
Remember that all cryptocurrencies, including ApeCoin, are highly speculative in nature, and their prices are highly volatile. Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice, and you should always do your own research (DYOR) before investing in cryptocurrency.
Store Your ApeCoin
Now that you know how and where to buy ApeCoin, the next step in your cryptocurrency journey is to learn where to store your assets. While cryptocurrency exchanges provide their own wallets to users to store their crypto assets, they have undergone several cyber-attacks, hacks, and thefts in the past, during which users lost their funds stored in the exchange wallets. The most prominent example was the Binance hack in 2019, when BTC worth USD 40 million was stolen from the exchange. So, if you own ApeCoin or any other crypto, including NFTs, it's a good idea to store them in your private wallet to retain complete control over your assets.
You can choose to store your ApeCoin and other tokens in a Software Waller or a Hardware Wallet. The major differences between a Software and Hardware wallet are as follows:
- Software Wallet: A Software wallet, also known as a Hot Wallet, is always connected to the internet. These wallets make your crypto assets easily accessible while totally in your control. One of the most secure software wallets for storing ApeCoin or making the most of DeFi is the CoinStats Wallet. It lets you store all kinds of cryptocurrency tokens and track their PnL in real-time. Trust Wallet is another popular Software wallet you can use.
- Hardware Wallet: A Hardware wallet is like a USD drive used to store your crypto assets. Hardware wallets or cold wallets, like Trezor or Ledger, are the most reliable options, as they come with safe offline storage and backup features. These are more suitable for experienced users who own large amounts of tokens.
Final Word
ApeCoin has already made a name for itself and become one of the most sought-after tokens worldwide. With the growth of the NFT market, the prospects for the ApeCoin token look very promising. With our complete guide, you're now well informed about the Ape token and can make an informed decision on whether to invest in ApeCoin. Follow our CoinStats blog to learn more on How to Buy Cryptocurrency, How to Buy NFTs, and more.
Text source: CoinStats Blog