- According to CoinMarketCap, it had a trading volume of almost $9.2 billion in just 24 hours. The coin offers holders voting power and influence over the Bored Ape DAO, which will use the blockchain to enable and record votes on choices pertaining to how the Bored Ape community is handled.
- Yuga Labs and its affiliates, for example, receive 23% of the entire distribution, which muddies the waters because it excludes Bored Apes and Mutant Apes NFT holders—if they are included, their lot share jumps to 38%. Andreessen Horowitz and other launch partners like Animoca Brands, on the other hand, would have significant clout in the DAO because they own around 140 million units of the token.
- A closer examination of the 1 billion token distribution reveals that it may be concentrated in the hands of a few persons.
Yuga Labs unveiled ApeCoin last week, a currency that will be utilized for future gaming and entertainment applications, according to the business. An airdrop of 1 billion ApeCoins was given out on Thursday, the day of the launch.
Would This Be Real Decentralisation Or Maybe A Ruse?
According to CoinMarketCap, it had a trading volume of almost $9.2 billion in just 24 hours. The coin offers holders voting power and influence over the Bored Ape DAO, which will use the blockchain to enable and record votes on choices pertaining to how the Bored Ape community is handled, as well as Yuga Labs’ central role when it enters the metaverse.
However, there is already a slew of issues surrounding the new cryptocurrency, starting with regulatory worries about how the token was introduced and disseminated. While introducing ApeCoin and its DAO appears to match with decentralization on the surface, a closer examination of the 1 billion token distribution reveals that it may be concentrated in the hands of a few persons.
According to the DAO’s official website, 15% of the token will be airdropped to holders of the Bored Apes (BAYC) and Mutant Apes NFT tokens, with Yuga Labs receiving the same amount of tokens as its NFT token holders. Apart from that, the NFT company’s founders will receive 8% of the entire profit, while launch partners such as VC firm Andressen Horowitz and gaming developer Animoca Brand would receive 14%. The leftover coins would be split between the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation and the Jane Goodall Foundation.
Given that the weight of votes on governance choices is determined by the number of tokens possessed, there is a lot of possibility for centralization. Yuga Labs and its affiliates, for example, receive 23% of the entire distribution, which muddies the waters because it excludes Bored Apes and Mutant Apes NFT holders—if they are included, their lot share jumps to 38%. Andreessen Horowitz and other launch partners like Animoca Brands, on the other hand, would have significant clout in the DAO because they own around 140 million units of the token (14 percent ).
Would Then ApeCoin Be Dominated By Yuga Labs As Well As Other Largest Group Owners?
Because of the way the tokenomics are currently set up, the VC and its partners can have a significant say in how the DAO functions an activity that would bolster Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s and Elon Musk’s critiques of Web3 and metaverse-related initiatives becoming centralized. Apart from that, if Yuga Labs and the other majority shareholders decide to sell their shares, they would benefit handsomely, putting other naïve investors on the short end of the stick. If they choose to hold, they will have significant influence over how the community works.
Not to mention Yuga Labs’ recent acquisition of Meebits and CryptoPunks IP, which means it now owns and maintains two of the most valuable NFT collecting projects in its portfolio, extending its domination of the NFT field even further. All of this raises the question of whether projects like these in the sector are here to help establish a decentralized Web3 or if they are simply a disguised form of centralization looking for a quick buck.
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Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/03/21/the-apecoin-tokenomics-voiced-concern-about-centralization/