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Everything You Need to Know About ApeCoin Staking

·December 1, 2022·Posted 9 days ago; Updated December 2, 2022

ApeCoin staking is right around the corner, but many holders are behind or don’t know all of the latest details. In this guide, we’ll answer all the basic questions on the upcoming $APE staking event.

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When Does ApeCoin Staking Start?

ApeCoin holders should be aware of three key dates:

Dec. 5, 2022: The staking site goes live and pre-deposits begin
Dec. 5-7, 2022: $APE contract is funded
Dec. 12, 2022: First $APE rewards are accrued

The pre-deposit period allows $APE holders a reasonable amount of time to stake their tokens and/or NFTs and avoid a potential gas war. Thus anyone who deposits during the pre-deposit period, regardless of time, will be eligible for the same reward accrual starting on Dec. 12.

How Do I Stake ApeCoin?

ApeCoin staking will primarily take place on ApeStake.io.

However, there are three potential ways to stake $APE, as indicated by an update from Horizen Labs on Nov. 23.

Open-source smart contracts
Front-end interfaces
Third-party interfaces

Horizen Labs, the blockchain infrastructure company in charge of creating the ApeCoin staking system, is deploying the open-source smart contract, and anyone can interact directly with it to stake their $APE or to build services or solutions on top of it.

The company is also launching a front-end interface for staking at the site, ApeStake.io, accessible to all who are not geoblocked. This will have a “user-friendly” interface and is meant for those who prefer not to interact directly with the smart contract.

Additionally, third-party interfaces are actively being built by several entities to allow for $APE staking across the world (and as a means of avoiding the geoblock). Some high-profile exchanges are reportedly setting up services, as well as Tessera. More information on active third parties involved in staking can be found here.

Can I Stake ApeCoin in the United States?

Due to regulatory concerns, the primary staking platform, ApeStake.io, will not be available for residents of the United States, according to a recent update from Horizen Labs.

However, it is expected that savvy users will be able to stake directly via the smart contract. Additionally, those who do not wish to stake using the smart contract may soon have options with the help of centralized exchanges or other third-party tools. For example, Tessera has teased an ApeCoin staking interface for those who do not wish to utilize ApeStake.io.

Disclaimer: This section is for informational purposes only and should not be constituted as financial or legal advice.

Can I Stake Bored Apes or Yuga Labs NFTs?

Those who own Yuga Labs NFTs, like Bored or Mutant Apes, can also stake their NFTs as part of the Horizen Labs staking launch. These holders will need to take part in a “commit process” before the staking of their NFT is allowed.

To complete the commit action, each NFT owner will need to:

Own the NFT(s) at the time of staking
Commit with $APE
Designate mapping for the Paired Pool (if applicable)

Users can commit as many Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs as they like, and only the committed NFTs will earn ApeCoin distributions and be eligible for a claim. The ApeCoin DAO compares the NFTs in this scenario to “a safety deposit key” which provides access to staked $APE tokens.

Additional deposits can happen at any time after a commitment has taken place and $APE rewards can be claimed at any time, and un-staked. To unstake an NFT, the owner must complete an uncommit action.

Upon uncommitting, all funds are withdrawn from the pool (including staked amount plus accrued rewards). Holders must remember to claim their staking rewards at the time of unstaking, otherwise, they run the risk of selling an NFT with unclaimed $APE available.

What Rewards Can I Earn Staking ApeCoin?

ApeCoin rewards, known as $APE staking emissions, will represent 17.5 percent of the total supply of the token and be distributed over a three-year period.

In the first year of staking, 100 million $APE will be released across all the staking pools.

There are four primary staking pools, to which holders of the Yuga Labs NFTs and $APE will have access.

Note that all pools require at least some amount of $APE. The four pools, and their respective first-year token allocations, are below:

BAYC Pool: 47,105,000 tokens (47.1%)
MAYC Pool: 30,000,000 tokens (30%)
BAYC/MAYC + BAKC Paired Pool: 19,060,000 tokens (19.06%)
$APE-only Pool: 3,835,000 tokens (3.83%)

There are staking caps in place as well, to be voted upon by the ApeCoin DAO ahead of each staking period. For the first staking period, those caps are as follows, on a per NFT basis:

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

Thus a holder with three BAYC can stake and earn rewards on no more than 30,282 $APE.

Staking rewards will be provided directly proportional to the amount of staked $APE in each pool. Participants are incentivized to own the highest percentage possible within a pool, to reap the maximum rewards. Those participants are also incentivized to be staked within each pool for the maximum time.

The example below from Horizen Labs highlights how allocations will differ based on how many participants are in the pool and their respective $APE allocations.

ApeCoin Early Staking Benefits

Yes, there is an incentive mechanism to reward those who stake $APE early over future stakers. Thus the most $APE will be earned in the first 90 days of each staking period and will decrease each quarter until the end of the three-year staking period.

Thus the final cross-pool allocations for Year 1 will look like the table below, after factoring in the differences in pool totals and the incentive distribution curve.

The staking allocations and caps will be re-evaluated after the first staking period (Year 1), ahead of future staking periods.

Staked $APE balances will not be dynamically increased, thus those who want to increase their staked balance with rewards will be required to un-stake and re-stake.

What Does Staking Mean for Yuga Labs’ NFTs?

Yuga Labs NFTs are not impacted by staking. The designated staking pools will only lock up the ApeCoin token and not the associated NFTs which are committed. The NFTs will remain in the owner’s wallet, and can be listed or sold on the secondary market.

However, the NFTs are the “key” to accessing any ApeCoin staked alongside them. Therefore, if a Bored Ape holder commits their NFT and stakes $APE, they must unstake and claim their $APE reward prior to selling the NFT. If the NFT is sold without claiming, the new owner will have access to any staked $APE and any accrued rewards.

Who Is Building the ApeCoin Staking Protocols?

Horizen Labs was hired to deliver the staking contract for $APE staking, and they are acting in accordance with the two governing ApeCoin Improvement Proposals (AIP-21 and AIP-22), which were voted on and approved by the ApeCoin DAO.

The smart contract security audit was completed by Halborn Security, and the respective audit documentation can be found here.

Where Can I Learn More About ApeCoin Staking?

As one may guess, this $APE staking topic has been one of the hottest topics in the Yuga Labs ecosystem and even the broader NFT market. Luckily, the power of the crowd has helped come up with a nice series of resources.

AIP-21: Staking Process with Caps and AIP-22: Staking Pool Allocations Reloaded.
Staking platform walkthrough
Discussion on $APE staking, recorded on Nov. 9.
Bug Bounty results
Wallet data on NFTs, $APE, and APYs.