Apecoin (APE) rally after Apechain launch sparks hopes of recovery above $2

Apecoin (APE) started the new week as a market overachiever, doubling its price over the weekend. The APE rally started after the announcement of Apechain, and it sparked additional hopes for a higher price range. 

Apecoin (APE) doubled its price in just two days, breaking out of a lull after months of sideways trading. APE rallied from $0.74 to reach the $1.74 level. APE trades are close to a one-month high, which could signal another imminent vertical rally. The token may be on track to recover its high point of the year, the $2.07 it achieved in March.

The next crucial level for APE to claim a higher range would be a daily close above $1.83. The asset now has to grab enough enthusiasm after the Bored Apes brand slowed down since the latest bull cycle.

APE failed to fulfill the expectations for high valuations and has been on a steady decline since 2022. Some also see the project tied to the Bored Ape NFT brand as unreliable. 

For some traders, the current price range is too far from their cost basis, especially for those who bought near the top around $25-$27. For others, Yuga Lab is a promising team, and APE may still expand by 200-300%, lining up among the top 50 tokens or higher.

Apecoin shorts increased during recent rally

The recent APE rally is not sparking a return of the token. Instead, there was a predominance of short positions, at 60% to 40%. APE open interest jumped in the past three days, coinciding with a buildup of short positions. 

APE rallied after traders switched to longs for the past weeks. With the new short positions open, traders may try to attack them, leading to a short squeeze. So far, short and long liquidations for APE are balanced. 

One whale saw the latest 100% rally as an opportunity to cut losses. The whale unstaked 590K APE and sold all 790K APE from their entire portfolio at a loss. The wallet’s cost basis was $3.85 per token. Even the additional 208K APE in accrued staking rewards was not enough to compensate for the whale’s loss.  

APE had the advantage of representation on Binance and Coinbase and was considered a blue-chip token tied to Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Yacht Club brand.

APE went on a slide after one of the top investors started selling. Jeffrey Huang, known as Machi Big Brother, shed his APE holdings after a disagreement with the ApeCoin DAO. The rage-selling further depressed the price of APE, adding to the pressure against the token.

However, during this latest rally, Machi Big Brother sent out a message in support of APE. Machi Big Brother also sent out support for FRIEND, the token of the now frozen Friend.tech. 

$APE now $FRIEND next

— Machi Big Brother (@machibigbrother) October 20, 2024

However, traders are skeptical about Machi Big Brother’s influence to revive those assets from a previous bull market. In addition to shilling APE, Machi Big Brother is starting to mention GOAT, one of the AI-inspired meme tokens, as the next hot thing. 

Bored Apes floor price recovers

Bored Apes rallied along with the APE token. The floor for BAYC rose to 13.20 ETH, approaching levels not seen since September. BAYC remains one of the most widely held and traded collections, despite the slowdown of all NFT activity. 

BAYC also achieved its highest trading volumes since May, leading supporters to consider the collection may be back. The BAYC collection is now aiming for cult status similar to some meme tokens. The recent APE rally and the BAYC recovery also followed the ApeFest full moon party in Lisbon. 

The BAYC NFT may now see more significant activity as they are bridged onto the new Apechain. The chain will grant all BAYC holders a new identity and a Yuga ID for account abstraction.

The Apechain will also work to onboard more games and collections, going beyond BAYC and Mutated Ape Yacht Club (MAYC). One of the first Web3 games to join the new chain will be Otherside Meta, an NFT feature with collectible Koda creatures.

Yuga Labs will also try to revive older trends like metaverse venues, racing games, and skin ownership via NFT.