Honestly, the phrase the next big crypto is a little cringeworthy. It immediately makes you think of some obscure dog-theme crypto token that’s really just a get-rich-quick scheme in disguise. Granted, a small handful of people actually do make money from these types of tokens. For example, the Shiba Inu coin helped one investor turn $8k into $5.7 billion. However, getting rich off of coins like Shiba Inu is the equivalent of winning the lottery. The people who make money are the ones running the lottery, not the ones buying the tickets.

With that said, every now and then a new cryptocurrency emerges that is actually worth taking a look at. In this case, it’s a cryptocurrency created by Yuga Labs. Yuga Labs owns an NFT monopoly that includes the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks and Meebits. Right now, Yugao Labs is worth around $4 billion and has investments from Mark Cuban and Andreesen Horowitz. It is also run by the co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian.

In this article, I’ll lay out my thesis for why ApeCoin could be the next big crypto.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that web3 is still highly speculative. I am not a financial advisor and am just offering my own research, thoughts, and commentary. Please base investment decisions on your own due diligence.

What is ApeCoin?

I know. Something called “ApeCoin” does not really sound like it should be “the next big” anything. In fact, it sounds exactly like what you’d expect a crypto pump-and-dump scam to sound like. But hear me out.

ApeCoin is the governance token that powers the APE ecosystem. The APE ecosystem is the term used to describe the world’s largest NFT collection. This collection includes the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks and Meebits.

Most of the world has not gotten into NFT investing yet. However, there’s little doubt that NFTs will be huge. Many of these NFTs are selling for much more than you’d ever expect. For example, one CryptoPunk famously sold for $24 million dollars. The cheapest Bored Ape that you can buy right now is close to $350,000. On top of that, almost every major company is creating a strategy to work NFT technology into their future.

Yuga Labs, as the owner of the world’s most popular NFTs, is essentially the only blue-chip NFT company in the world. It’s the Amazon or Apple of NFTs.

Right now, Yuga Labs is creating a metaverse called Otherside. This metaverse will be a gamified digital world where these NFT holders can play games, hang out and bond.

ApeCoin will be the token at the center of this exciting new digital world, potentially making it the next big crypto. Holders will be able to use ApeCoin to make purchases and play games. On top of that, holders of ApeCoin will be able to vote on decisions about the project’s future. So, what makes this metaverse project different from the dozens of other projects?

Keep reading for more info on the next big crypto.

Not Your Standard Metaverse Project

To start, Yuga Labs already has tremendous traction in web3. It has built a dedicated community around its NFT projects. So much so, in fact, that people are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy them. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Yuga Labs shocks people by quickly becoming the leading metaverse company. Here are a few reasons why…

Culture Fit

People who own Bored Apes or CryptoPunks are already web3 fans. Why else would they be spending thousands of dollars on NFTs? These are the types of people that are actually interested in the metaverse and want to spend time in it. Additionally, Yuga Labs has already proved that it can create successfully launch web3 projects.

Compare this to a company like Meta Platforms. Meta Platforms is essentially creating a metaverse and just thrusting it onto its billions of users. But do Facebook users actually want it? Does the average Facebook user even know or care about web3, NFTs or or what the next big crypto might be? Probably not.

Money

Lots of companies have big dreams. The problem is that it almost always takes money to turn these dreams into reality. Luckily, money is not a problem for Yuga Labs. The company has a valuation of $4 billion dollars. This puts it well ahead of most Silicon Valley startups. Two major investors, Andreesen Horowitz and Mark Cuban, have also invested money. This is absolutely critical.

The fact that two well-known investors like Horowitz and Cuban are invested brings much-needed validity to the project. NFTs are still very much a fringe investment. However, investors tend to follow the big money. If big-time investors are interested in YugaLabs and ApeCoin, smaller investors will likely follow.

An NFT Monopoly

Yuga Labs is the first NFT monopoly. It now owns the most successful collections like Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, Bored Ape Kennel Club, CryptoPunks and Meebits.

This gives it an enormous range of influence. Dozens of very high-profile people are a part of its digital club.

Celebrity Endorsements

Tom Brady, Madonna, Steph Curry, Jimmy Fallon, Ben Simmons, Justin Beiber, Post Malone, Kevin Hart, Paris Hilton and many more own Bored Apes. Since these NFTs are so expensive, anyone who owns one is going to be someone with money and influence.

Listed on Major Exchanges

ApeCoin was listed on major crypto exchanges almost instantly after it was released. This is a testament to the strength of the project. It also makes it much easier for investors to buy it.

So how does all of this lead to ApeCoin being the next big crypto? If you don’t own a Bored Ape, why should you care?

ApeCoin: The Next Big Crypto?

The future of ApeCoin depends on the future of Yuga Labs. Here’s a quick crash course on where Yuga Labs is currently at:

1. CryptoPunks and Bored Apes were the two biggest NFT projects. It was essentially these two and then everyone else. Now, Yuga Labs owns both along with Mutant Apes, Meebits, and Bored Ape Kennel Club.
2. NFTs are gaining traction as legitimate assets. NFTs can appreciate in value, be traded fairly easily, give holders exclusive benefits, and pay dividends. If/when Wall Street Money finally enters the space, it will most likely pour into these two projects. This is because, as blue-chip projects, investor’s view CryptoPunks and Bored Apes as the safest.
3. The future of this project is still uncertain. However, it has very high ambitions of building a gamified digital world. It has plenty of capital (both financial and human) to make this happen.

Otherside is the first example of the Bored Ape ecosystem evolving and it will be powered by ApeCoin. Right now, ApeCoin is still relatively cheap ($10 USD). However, there’s no telling how high it could run over the long term.

Should you Buy ApeCoin?

This article is definitely not a recommendation that you should sell your house and buy ApeCoin. ApeCoin is still highly speculative. NFTs and crypto are also different than stocks because there’s a chance you could lose 100% of your investment. If you do invest, it should only be with money that you’re comfortable losing.

At the same time, ApeCoin is also very far from a pump-and-dump crypto scam. Yuga Labs is the largest name in NFTs. Right now, it has the potential to be a major contender in the metaverse space. It also has plenty of capital, a talented management team and a dedicated user base.

The price of ApeCoin might not go up over the next few weeks or months. However, Yuga Labs will undoubtedly continue to expand its ecosystem. In five years, it will likely be much larger and more established. Along the way, investors will likely continue to pour more money into NFTs and the DeFi space. As this happens, there’s a good chance that ApeCoin’s price will increase over time.

Please remember that I’m not a financial advisor and am just offering my own research and commentary. As usual, please base all investment decisions on your own due diligence. With that in mind, I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the next big crypto that you should actually take seriously.