Navigating ApeCoin Staking! - CYAN

ApeCoin Staking has been long anticipated!

ApeCoin staking is coming soon! The staking site goes up on December 5th, but there is still lots of confusion on how it all works. Let’s dive into how you can enjoy this new feature!

Here is some vocabulary to make reading a bit easier:

$APE = ApeCoin Token (ERC20) BAYC = Bored Ape Yacht Club MAYC = Mutant Ape Yacht Club BAKC = Bored Ape Kennel Club

What is the schedule for ApeCoin Staking?

The ApeCoin staking website and pre-deposits go live on December 5th. Staking rewards will begin a week later, on December 12th.

December 5th: Official staking site goes live, and pre-deposits start December 5th~7th: Contract funding December 12th: Rewards accrual start

What is ApeCoin Staking?

Staking $APE will reward stakers with free, airdropped $APE tokens. This locks up liquidity for $APE and incentivizes longer-term holding instead of trading or speculation. Stakers are rewarded for locking up supply for some time.

There are two different types of staking. One is a pure $APE Pool, where you stake your $APE to earn more $APE. The other is a token gated pool, where a BAYC, MAYC, or combination of BAYC + BAKC, or MAYC + BAKC can unlock higher ApeCoin staking rewards.

For the second type of $APE staking, your BAYC, MAYC, or BAKC NFT acts as a key to unlock higher staking rewards. Since the NFTs are not locked up while staking, users still have access to utility in token-gated systems. In other words, you’ll have access to events, merchandise drops, 10KTF missions, Otherside trips, and anything else that would need verification of ownership!

17.5% of the total supply of $APE will be distributed through staking over three years. This amount is 175,000,000 $APE. $APE can be claimed and unstaked at any time and staked $APE will continue to have utility like voting in the ApeCoin DAO.

Keep in mind, that staked $APE balances may not be increased. Meaning, if you stake 100 $APE today and would like to stake another 200 $APE tomorrow, you’ll need to unstake the initial 100 $APE and stake with 300 $APE total tomorrow.

How do you get started in ApeCoin Staking?

The first step to stake $APE tokens is to own $APE. For more staking rewards, you may elect to buy a BAYC NFT or MAYC NFT. You can read our guide here on how to buy NFTs if you’d like more insight on the best ways to do so!

ApeCoin tokens are available on Uniswap or centralized exchanges like Binance. Depending on which NFT you’ve purchased, there is a limitation on the amount of $APE you can stake.

Per one BAYC, you can stake 10,094 $APE Per one MAYC, you can stake 2,042 $APE Per one BAKC, you can stake 856 $APE (paired with a BAYC or MAYC)

So if you own two BAYC and one MAYC, you can stake up to 22,230 ApeCoins in total!

What are the details of the ApeCoin distribution schedule?

In total, 175,000,000 $APE will be distributed over three years. There is an $APE distribution curve, designed to reward early stakers with a higher distribution of $APE. Stakers will earn the most $APE within the first 91 days of each year as a result. Occasionally claiming, unstaking, and staking with the entire $APE balance may be a great way to increase rewards!

The $APE Pool will remain a 30% allocation for all years. The other pools will adjust annually before each staking period by recalibrating based on the observed floor price. The previous staking year’s last quarter (Q4) average price will determine each pool’s allocated emissions for the following period.

ApeCoin Emissions Chart for the three years

Before each staking year begins, the ApeCoin DAO will determine each pool’s $APE allocations. Staking caps are then subsequently calculated. $APE staking periods will total twelve months before allocations and caps are evaluated. Here are the initial staking caps for each respective NFT for the first year:

BAYC: 10,094 $APE MAYC: 2,042 $APE BAKC: 856 $APE

What does the first year of ApeCoin distribution look like?

ApeCoin Emissions Schedule for the first year

A total of 100,000,000 $APE will be released in the first year. Here is the allocation breakdown for the $APE staking rewards across all pools in the first year:

$APE Pool: 30,000,000 (30.00%) BAYC Pool: 47,105,000 (47.10%) MAYC Pool: 19,060,000 (19.06%) BAKC Pool: 3,835,000 (3.83%)

ApeCoin Emissions Chart for the first year

Who can participate in ApeCoin Staking?

While the official staking site will block US and Canadian citizens, technically anyone can access the smart contracts and stake directly.

Cyan will support staking for $APE, BAYC, and MAYC to start. Support for BAKC will follow soon after. You can either stake with your NFT in hand or elect to buy now and pay later a BAYC or MAYC and use it to earn higher $APE staking rewards. This way, you can finance the purchase of a BAYC or MAYC while simultaneously earning $APE staking rewards!

Selling Bored Ape or Mutant Ape while Staking ApeCoin?

If you decide to sell your BAYC or MAYC during the staking period of your ApeCoins, you will lose access to both the staked $APE and staking rewards. So if you are looking to list your NFTs, PLEASE UNSTAKE APECOINS before selling your BAYC, MAYC, or BAKC! You will lose access to the staked ApeCoins, and they will transfer to the new owner.

You can also elect to sell the BAYC or MAYC with tied $APE staking assets. However, it would be harder to communicate this and for buyers to catch this fact. It would be easier to decouple the $APE staking from any NFT you are looking to sell.

BAKC also has a unique catch when selling while staking $APE. If you sell your BAKC without unstaking, the new buyer will be able to claim the rewards but will be unable to unstake the original $APE without the paired BAYC or MAYC. For example, if you stake 856 $APE with BAYC #6969 and BAKC #420 pair, the 856 $APE is tied to your BAYC #6969. Let’s say after one month the staking reward is 20 $APE. If you sell BAKC #420 alone, the new owner can claim the 20 $APE reward, but not the original 856 $APE. You can unstake the 856 $APE with your BAYC #6969, but not the 20 $APE reward.

Conclusion

The easiest way to stake ApeCoin would be to go straight into the $APE Pool and stake from day one! If you own a BAYC, pairing your $APE with the NFT while staking will provide the most rewards. Earned $APE during the period does not automatically accumulate to your staking position. Thus, it is best if you unstake and re-stake the entire position from time to time, depending on gas fees. Also, if you want to sell your BAYC, MAYC, or BAKC during the staking period, it is best to unstake first and then list the NFT.

You can stake through Cyan! You can also finance a BAYC or MAYC and stake $APE while you pay off the loan. This way, you can maximize your liquidity and accumulate $APE at the same time.

Happy staking!