# ApeCoin (APE): D-Score 36/100 — Centralized Leaning

**BlockIndex D-Score: 36/100 (Centralized Leaning).** ApeCoin (APE) is a Layer 1 cryptocurrency using PoS consensus. ApeCoin: ERC-20 governance and utility token enabling decentralized DAO governance, ecosystem funding, and broad exchange liquidity.

_Source: https://blockindex.ai/coin/ape · Data by BlockIndex.AI · Updated 2026-06-19_

## D-Score breakdown (0-100, higher means more decentralized)
| Component | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall D-Score | 36 |
| Node distribution | 0 |
| Initial distribution | 0 |
| Governance | 20 |
| Age and history | 11 |
| Autonomy | 5 |

## Key facts
- Layer: Layer 1
- Consensus: PoS (N/A)
- Launch: Airdrop (2022)
- Founder: Alexis Ohanian, Amy Wu
- VC funded: No
- Max supply: 1,000,000,000
- Circulating: 1,000,000,000 (100.0%)

## Market data (as of 2026-06-19)
- Price: $0.13
- Market cap: $132.08M
- 24h volume: $23.62M
- 24h change: -0.92% · 7d change: +3.06%

## About
ApeCoin (APE) is an ERC-20 governance and utility token launched March 17, 2022 to serve as the native governance and payments layer for the APE Ecosystem, a community-driven suite of web3 applications and services that grew out of the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem. The token was minted in a fixed supply of 1,000,000,000 APE and initially distributed to Bored Ape and Mutant Ape NFT holders, creating immediate network effects and a strong community base. Governance is conducted through the ApeCoin DAO, while the APE Foundation functions as an administrative body to execute DAO-approved proposals. Key early governance allocations prioritized ecosystem development, with a majority share assigned to an Ecosystem Fund to subsidize third-party integrations, developer grants and community initiatives.

Technically, ApeCoin is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum mainnet and therefore inherits Ethereum security, tooling and on-chain history. As an ERC-20 asset it does not run its own consensus or validator network; instead it leverages the underlying Ethereum execution layer and the broad infrastructure of wallets, explorers and exchanges. In 2025 notable infrastructure work included the launch of ApeChain (an Arbitrum-based environment for certain APE-native utilities) and migration of NFT staking functions to ApeChain to improve UX, reduce fees and enable new staking flows. These moves illustrate a pragmatic multi-layer approach: APE remains an Ethereum-native token while select functionality is moved to an L2 environment to address scaling and user experience constraints.

ApeCoin’s tokenomics are straightforward and governed by an initial mint of 1,000,000,000 tokens. Launch-day circulation was approximately 30.25% with scheduled unlocks over subsequent months and years governed by the DAO and documented in token allocation schedules published on aggregators. A large Ecosystem Fund allocation (reported at ~62% in source materials) was designed to bootstrap partnerships, developer work and grant programs. Because all tokens were minted at creation, the project is not a traditional mined chain and does not have native block rewards; the premine field has been treated as 0% in structured extracts while the public initial issuance metric (PIP) is recorded as 100% because all tokens were pre-issued at creation.

Governance is conducted on-chain through the ApeCoin DAO with the APE Foundation fulfilling administrative roles and operational execution. The DAO-based governance model has been active — major governance proposals in 2025 changed treasury oversight, introduced on-chain treasury structures and led to high-profile votes (including proposals that restructured treasury control). Community participation in votes has been a material aspect of the project’s governance profile. Moving forward, watchers should prioritize outcomes of governance proposals (e.g., ApeCo), the adoption and utility of ApeChain for staking and payments, and merchant and developer integrations that expand real-world use cases.

## Links
- Website: https://apecoin.com/
- Whitepaper: N/A
- GitHub: N/A

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About the D-Score: BlockIndex.AI rates decentralization from 0 to 100 across node distribution, initial distribution, governance, age and history, and autonomy. Methodology: https://blockindex.ai/dscore