ApeCoin (APE)
Unlock Schedule
ApeCoin (APE) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
As of October 16, 2026, 1 billion of the 1 billion APE (100.00%) have been released. No further releases are scheduled; the schedule was fully unlocked in March 2026.
The chart shows gross modeled releases of every allocation: vesting unlocks, new issuance and reserve distributions, each allocation counted once. These have different meanings; a scheduled release is not evidence that tokens entered circulation or were sold. Review the coverage, sources and assumptions below.
Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.
Tokenomics & Utility
Supply and original allocation
ApeCoin has a fixed total supply of one billion APE. Its original allocation shows how the project combined community distribution with resources for development. The APE Foundation’s published breakdown assigns: (apecoin.com)
- 62% to the ecosystem fund: 150 million APE were set aside for BAYC and MAYC NFT holders, while 470 million were assigned to treasury and ecosystem resources.
- 16% to Yuga Labs and charity: This included 150 million APE for Yuga Labs and 10 million APE, or equal value, designated for the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation.
- 14% to launch contributors: These were people and organizations that helped bring ApeCoin to launch.
- 8% to the BAYC founders: This allocation went to the founders of Yuga Labs. (apecoin.com)
Some allocations were available at launch; others followed lockup and monthly release schedules. A lockup delays when recipients can access tokens. These schedules were part of the original distribution plan, rather than a method for creating more APE beyond the fixed supply. The ecosystem allocation also had a governance purpose when the DAO was active: it provided resources for community-approved work. (apecoin.com)
APE’s practical uses now center on payments, supported app features, and ApeChain gas fees. Holding the token does not give its owner a share of Yuga Labs or a claim on the foundation’s assets. Its value within the ecosystem comes from what users and developers can do with it. (okx.com)
Assumptions
ApeCoin's fixed 1 billion-token allocation covers NFT-holder claims, the ecosystem treasury, Yuga Labs, charity, launch contributors and BAYC founders. The chart shows the launch claim opening, published cliffs and monthly vesting, with reconstructed installment months labeled as estimates. Staking rewards, the Banana Bill, the bug bounty and other named programs draw on existing treasury tokens, but their budgets do not establish complete dated payments to recipients. Treasury distributions remain open after the original vesting schedule ends.
- ApeCoin and BAYC-Ecosystem Staking Rewards: The original schedule was changed and the new timing is not yet published.
- Banana Bill ApeChain Ecosystem Fund: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Banana Bill Commercial Agreements Initiative: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Banana Bill User Incentives Initiative: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Banana Bill Administration Budget: The original schedule was changed and the new timing is not yet published.
- AIP-3 Year One Budgets: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
- Thank APE Phase II: Only secondary sources describe the timing, so it is not confirmed.
- AIP-134 Staking Bug Bounty Program: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- AIP-134 Llama Upfront Operations Payment: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
- ApeCo Transition: Legal and Contractual Obligations Reserve: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- 1. https://apecoin.com/
- 2. https://etherscan.io/token/0x4d224452801aced8b2f0aebe155379bb5d594381
- 3. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-22-staking-pool-allocation-reloaded-ecosystem-fund-allocation/5071
- 4. https://github.com/HorizenLabs/ape-staking-public/blob/main/contracts/ApeCoinStaking.sol
- 5. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/financial-sustainability-of-the-apecoin-dao/21418/11
- 6. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-454-the-banana-bill-apes-gotta-eat/24367
- 7. https://files.apecoin.com/BB-Transparency-Report-Q1-2025.pdf
- 8. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/sunsetting-the-dao-and-launching-apeco-a-new-operating-model-for-apecoin/28242
- 9. https://cdck-file-uploads-us1.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/apecoin/original/2X/d/dbc3f4abe26ee9aecf88d8a824d6dae1d835dc0d.pdf
- 10. https://www.cointime.ai/news/state-of-apecoin-q1-2024-67544
- 11. https://www.theboredapegazette.com/post/the-cruft-is-cut-the-apecoin-dao-is-shutting-down-and-apeco-will-be-taking-its-place-here-s-what-y
- 12. https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-134-bug-bounty-program-for-aip-21/8792
- 13. https://cdck-file-uploads-us1.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/apecoin/original/2X/b/bb12464a136c33b219ec608859b6e807b0f3ac9b.pdf
Tokenomics Overview
Market Data
Tile coloring: Green indicates positive changes, red indicates negative changes, and neutral indicates no significant trend or unavailable data.
Perpetuals: 3 markets on Binance, OKX and Hyperliquid · $8.4M open interest
 Binance (CEX) | 1.9M | 100K/87K |
 HTX (CEX) | 1.1M | 309/1.3K |
 OKX (CEX) | 776K | 66K/71K |
 Coinbase (CEX) | 590K | 42K/77K |
 Bybit (CEX) | 559K | 48K/72K |
 MEXC (CEX) | 390K | 90K/85K |
Binance (CEX) | 325K | 11K/12K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 231K | 1.7K/5.5K |
 Bitget (CEX) | 225K | 65K/45K |
 Gate.io (CEX) | 217K | 128K/122K |
 Kraken (CEX) | 138K | 69K/126K |
Binance (CEX) | 122K | 29K/28K |
 KuCoin (CEX) | 76K | 3.3K/4.2K |
Kraken (CEX) | 54K | 68K/74K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 28K | 1.7K/8.7K |
MEXC (CEX) | 27K | 86K/75K |
Kraken (CEX) | 7.4K | 8.2K/11K |
OKX (CEX) | 6.3K | 31K/37K |
 Pancakeswap V3 (BNB) | 3.6K | 939/937 |
Bybit (CEX) | 2.7K | 5.2K/6.1K |
 Uniswap V3 (Ethereum) | 1.5K | 1.7K/1.7K |
Kraken (CEX) | 1.3K | 940/2.8K |
KuCoin (CEX) | 988 | 1.3K/1.3K |
Uniswap V2 (Ethereum) | 970 | 229/228 |
Allocations
Tokenomics Overview
Market Data
Tile coloring: Green indicates positive changes, red indicates negative changes, and neutral indicates no significant trend or unavailable data.
Perpetuals: 3 markets on Binance, OKX and Hyperliquid · $8.4M open interest
Binance (CEX) | 1.9M | 100K/87K |
HTX (CEX) | 1.1M | 309/1.3K |
OKX (CEX) | 776K | 66K/71K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 590K | 42K/77K |
Bybit (CEX) | 559K | 48K/72K |
MEXC (CEX) | 390K | 90K/85K |
Binance (CEX) | 325K | 11K/12K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 231K | 1.7K/5.5K |
Bitget (CEX) | 225K | 65K/45K |
Gate.io (CEX) | 217K | 128K/122K |
Kraken (CEX) | 138K | 69K/126K |
Binance (CEX) | 122K | 29K/28K |
KuCoin (CEX) | 76K | 3.3K/4.2K |
Kraken (CEX) | 54K | 68K/74K |
Coinbase (CEX) | 28K | 1.7K/8.7K |
MEXC (CEX) | 27K | 86K/75K |
Kraken (CEX) | 7.4K | 8.2K/11K |
OKX (CEX) | 6.3K | 31K/37K |
Pancakeswap V3 (BNB) | 3.6K | 939/937 |
Bybit (CEX) | 2.7K | 5.2K/6.1K |
Uniswap V3 (Ethereum) | 1.5K | 1.7K/1.7K |
Kraken (CEX) | 1.3K | 940/2.8K |
KuCoin (CEX) | 988 | 1.3K/1.3K |
Uniswap V2 (Ethereum) | 970 | 229/228 |