According to a post on the BAYC Discord server, NFT holders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club can purchase new retail items from Yuga Labs, but they must do it using the newly-launched ApeCoin. As NFT holders pay for their stuff, Yuga Labs, which owns a major share in the ApeCoin-supporting organization, will receive more ApeCoin (and greater power over the organization).
That is, providing they are capable of doing so. Users claimed that they were having problems checking out, continuing the bitcoin pattern of “money but worse.”
Members that pay in ApeCoin effectively hand over their ApeCoin DAO vote to Yuga Labs, solidifying Yuga Labs’ influence over the DAO even further. A total of 150 million tokens have been awarded to the corporation, but they remain locked for a year. The creators of Yuga Labs will receive 80 million tokens, which will be frozen for a year. Yuga Labs also has seven Bored Apes and ten Mutant Apes. The retail launch — as well as the transfer of tokens to Yuga Labs — comes just two days before the initial DAO proposals are voted on.
Users must own a BAYC or Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT to access the BAYC retail store. Hoodies, soccer jerseys, hats, sweatpants, and throw blankets are among them. Token holders that pay Yuga Labs with ApeCoin are effectively giving Yuga Labs their DAO votes.
The product was first unveiled by Yuga Labs on Friday at 1:57 p.m. PT. According to Coinbase, ApeCoin jumped from $13.83 at 2 p.m. PT on March 26th to $15.13 at 12:33 p.m. PT today after Yuga Labs made their announcement.
