ApeCoin (APE), the cryptocurrency associated with the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has experienced a significant surge in value, reaching its highest point since April. This impressive rise follows the eagerly awaited launch of ApeChain, which occurred on Sunday, introducing native staking yield to APE holders.
The ApeCoin team, spearheaded by Yuga Labs, has unveiled the new blockchain network known as ApeChain, a Layer 3 network developed on Arbitrum One. This innovative network is fully compatible with the APE token and facilitates minting of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), trading, and decentralized applications, ultimately enhancing the user experience.
It is noteworthy that the ApeChain DAO had voted in January to develop this advanced network. Additionally, the launch of ApeChain bridges has also gone live, allowing users to transfer their tokens seamlessly to ApeChain while automatically earning staking yields on APE, ETH, and various stablecoins.
Staking in this context entails locking assets within a blockchain network in exchange for rewards, akin to investing in fixed-income instruments. Markus Thielen, head of 10x Research, commented on the situation, observing that the introduction of native staking yield likely stimulated heightened investor interest in APE.
Thielen elaborated on the new automatic yield mode of ApeCoin, which enables users to passively earn returns by staking their APE tokens. Notably, rewards from this staking process are reinvested automatically, effectively maximizing yield over time. This development is an integral part of the broader ApeCoin ecosystem, which strives to enhance token utility by promoting user engagement through various means including games, staking pools, and other activities.
Furthermore, the platform has plans to incorporate additional yield-generating cryptocurrencies in an effort to broaden its user base. Moreover, the launch of LayerZero on the ApeChain mainnet may have played a significant role in the rally of APE. LayerZero represents an interoperability protocol that allows applications to transfer data across blockchains.
The integration of APE with LayerZero's omnichain fungible token standard provides for seamless cross-chain transfers, thereby boosting utility across multiple blockchains while ensuring transactions remain scalable and efficient..