ApeCoin Surges in Value Following Yuga Labs' Otherside Tech Demo

ApeCoin price has started the week on a positive note after Yuga Lab’s Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) opened its Otherside metaverse for business and invited 4,300 “Voyagers” who had bought ‘Otherdeeds’ (digital land deeds) for a first-look tech demo and tour last Saturday. At the time of writing, APE was trading at $5.89 (roughly Rs. 471) after hitting a daily high of $6.07 (roughly Rs. 485). The price of APE has surged by close to 35 percent over the past week.

ApeCoin, which can be claimed by BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) holders, was launched by ApeCoin DAO earlier this year. The utility token powers spin-off projects from the BAYC universe, most notably the BAYC-inspired metaverse game Otherside.

Back in May, the Otherdeed mint briefly sent Ethereum gas prices to the moon after more than $157 million (roughly Rs. 1,256 crore) in Ether was burned in gas fees.

Some reported paying more than double the sale price of 305 ApeCoin —approximately $5,800 (roughly Rs. 4.64 lakh) at the time — in gas fees alone, while others saw their transactions fail, but were still charged for gas.

In a litepaper published shortly after Saturday’s tech demo, the Otherside developers announced that only Otherdeed owners and “selected third-party developers” can participate in the game during its first phase, and only then after going on a “First Trip.”

According to the litepaper, “Phase 1” will see Otherdeed owners navigate Voyager’s Journey, an 11-part narrative game “surrounding a mysterious Obelisk that has appeared in the Otherside universe.” In Phase 1, Otherdeed owners will be able to contribute to the platform’s construction and shape its core capabilities as co-developers, via the Otherside Development Kit, the platform’s suite of creation tools.

“We believe in the extraordinary power of community and have seen firsthand how it can be a significant force for good in this industry,” the litepaper stated. “We aim to incentivise, empower, and recognise the expression, creativity, and ingenuity of Otherside’s community of contributors.”