Apecoin price shot above $1.90 for the first time in six months after the community approved a proposal to launch a new project on the Arbitrum network.
After a torrid 2023 that saw the price of Apecoin (APE) fall to an all-time low, the fortunes of the BoredApeYacht Club governance token have taken a dramatic positive turn in 2024, thanks to the strategic buying trend of whales.
The latest partnership with Arbitrum (ARB) that will push the APE price above the $2 milestone remains to be seen.
Apecoin Price Increases 21% and ApeChain Launches on Arbitrum
The waning investor interest in the global nft sector has had a significant impact on Apecoin's BAYC ecosystem. Inevitably, the price of the native APE token suffered a dramatic drop over the past year, sinking to an all-time low of $1.01 on October 10 of last year.
However, things have taken a positive turn in the last month, as Apecoin DAO began executing new initiatives to revive the once-charting-leading nft ecosystem.
On February 16, ApecoinDAO voted on a proposal to build ApeChain, a dedicated blockchain that scales APE and supports the growth of the ApeCoin ecosystem.
Arbitrum's Horizen sidechain won by a landslide, taking 51% of the vote, ahead of Polygon's CDK, Optimism (OP), and ethereum's ZKSync.
The decision resonated with Apecoin investors, driving volatile price action. According to price trends, APE price had reached an increase of 18% in the first half of February 15.
After the community proposal was approved in favor of Arbitrum on February 16, the rally accelerated another 20% in the following four trading days, taking the price of APE to a six-month high of $1.90 on February 19.
APE price saw a 13% pullback in the last 48 hours between February 19 and 21, raising concerns about a bearish news selling cycle.
Going deeper down the chain, the data shows that Apecoin whale investors are still holding firm, indicating long-term bullish sentiment.
crypto whales participate in Apecoin rally with $40 million entries
Apecoin's recent decline appears to have been largely driven by retail investors and swing traders who quickly took profits when APE price hit a six-month peak immediately following the Arbitrum partnership on February 16.
On a more positive note, on-chain data shows that corporate entities and high net worth whale investors in the Apecoin ecosystem have maintained their bullish stance amid the downward price trend.
Santiment's chart shows accumulated balances in wallets containing at least 10 million APE tokens (around $15 million), showing that whales have been buying since the beginning of the year.
Since January 1, whales have spent approximately $40 million acquiring 21.8 million APE, bringing the balances to 61.1 million APE as of press time on February 21.
Despite last week's dramatic price volatility, whales maintained their bullish positions, further increasing their balances by 6.6 million APE amid the market frenzy.
When whale investors make large purchases during a period of intense turbulence as seen in the Apecoin markets this week, it indicates a prevailing bullish sentiment among large investors and institutional traders.
The willingness to accumulate significant amounts of APE amid market volatility suggests confidence in the project's long-term prospects and a belief that ApecoinDAO's new initiatives, including the Arbitrum partnership, will produce positive results for the broader ecosystem.
Apecoin Price Forecast: Bulls Could Rebound From $1.50
Based on the bullish disposition seen among whales and the potential ecosystem boost promised by the newly launched Apechain, APE price will likely see an early rally towards $2 in the coming weeks.
With the profit-taking wave underway, APE bulls must first defend the $1.50 support level to have a chance at an early rebound.
The following global money in/out chart from IntoTheBlock shows that 9,630 current holders had purchased 268.34 billion APE at the floor price of $1.50.
Considering this is the largest group of investors who bought APE below current prices, Apecoin is likely to avoid a reversal below that level. However, if the support buy wall collapses, APE price could fall towards $1.
On the positive side, some bullish news has emerged from the nft sector in recent weeks. Given the historical importance of BAYC to the nft world, this development could spur APE whales to maintain their year-long buying trend.
If this scenario holds true, the bulls may trigger an early price rebound towards $2, as predicted.
APE price is currently trading 95% below its all-time high price of $26.7, so its growth prospects may be attractive to eagle-eyed investors looking to scoop up tokens in the fund.
