ApeCoin (APE), the native token on the Bored Ape NFT collection, soared to near record highs on Wednesday. The majority of its surge in the last 24 hours can be linked to speculations over founder Yuga Labs’ upcoming metaverse announcement.
APE soared by 23% in the last 24 hours, approaching a record high of $16.47. Its recent gains saw it surpass Decentraland (MANA) as the largest metaverse token, with a market value of $4.3 billion
As traders awaited a big announcement from Yuga, Whale interest in ApeCoin and the Bored Ape NFTs also soared over the last 24 hours.
Is there a big metaverse announcement soon?
In March, Yuga Labs released a teaser trailer for its upcoming metaverse, called Otherside. Aside from the notion that it will be a metaverse incorporating Apecoin and numerous NFTs, little is known about the project.
Yuga stated that more details about the project would be revealed in April. It had also launched Apecoin to serve as a native token for the project.
Given that April 20 is an important date for online meme culture, an announcement from Yuga could be nigh. The Bored Ape Yacht Club launch’s first anniversary is on April 23.
Yuga planned to start selling land for its project soon, according to bored ape owner @renegademasterr. The sales will most likely be priced in APE.
Whale interest heats up as APE, NFTS in demand
The token is the fifth most acquired token by ETH whales in the last 24 hours, according to Whalestats, with an average of $63,500 worth of tokens transferred in each transaction. The largest transaction involving the token in the past 24 hours was approximately 300,000 tokens purchased for $3.9 million by an ETH whale known as “BlueWhale0093.”
According to data from NFT Go, trading volumes in Bored Ape NFTs increased by 100% on Tuesday. The collection’s floor price also increased by 9% amid a surge in NFT buying. Five of the top ten Bored Ape sales in the last 24 hours were made by ETH whales.
Trading volumes for other Yuga NFT properties such as Mutant Apes and the Kennel Club also skyrocketed.
