- The ApeCoin DAO community has voted to migrate to the Arbitrum sidechain, initiating the development of ApeChain.
- This decision, prompted by Ethereum mainnet issues, was confirmed by a community vote.
- Offchain Labs, a key Arbitrum developer, has embraced the transition, but others aren’t sure
The ApeCoin DAO community recently voted to migrate from Ethereum to the Arbitrum sidechain in order to develop the ApeChain. The shift, confirmed by a community vote, follows some high-profile issues with the Ethereum mainnet and the suggestion nearly two years ago by Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs that the ApeCoin DAO should consider launching on its own chain. Key Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs welcomed the move, describing ApeChain as an “onchain playground for the Ape ecosystem,” but others believed that Ethereum’s planned on-chain upgrades will undermine the move.
ApeChain Moves to the Other Side
Calls for a migration away from Ethereum for the Bored Ape franchise have been made ever since May 2022 when the launch of the Borted Ape metaverse, Otherside, essentially crashed the Ethereum network.
Yuga Labs took action last year and brought in computing firm Hadean to help scale Otherside through an undisclosed investment amount, but it seems that the ApeCoin DAO community fancied a clean break.
Last week, voters from the ApeCoin DAO had their say over where ApeChain should be developed, with over 50% of token-based votes going to Arbitrum, which was presented by Offchain Labs and their partner Horizen Labs:
Congratulations to @apecoin DAO on its decision to develop ApeChain utilizing the Arbitrum tech stack!
With $APE serving as both the gas and governance token for ApeChain, Arbitrum Orbit’s customizability empowers @ApeCoin DAO with true ownership and control over this…
— Offchain Labs (@OffchainLabs) February 15, 2024
While the general consensus was that the move was a good idea, not everyone was on board, with some responders noting that Ethereum’s planned upgrades could render the migration moot:
Such a bad decision to build @apecoin on @arbitrum
No one will use Arbitrum once ZK takes off 🤦🏻♂️
— Jonnie King 🍌👑 (@JonnieKing) February 15, 2024
Offchain Labs and Horizen Labs are actively preparing for the ApeChain launch, targeting a rollout in the second quarter of 2024. However, final discussions with the ApeCoin community are still pending to ensure alignment with stakeholders’ objectives and requirements.
