*Note: a SWOT analysis is an evaluation of the fundamental, operational, technical, social, economic, and even to some degree administrative elements of a project. This is not a model to be used for trading purposes. (NFA, DYOR)
Composed of four elements, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, a SWOT analysis framework provides excellent insight for establishing a high-level understanding of the state of a project’s well-being through the lens of a birds-eye view.
It can help formulate decisions around which areas require more attention, set performance goals, and organize a foundational understanding of where a project is headed.
Rarely (if ever) used in crypto, it is time to apply this timeless method of evaluation to the digital asset space.
Today, Apecoin (APE), the decentralized digital asset pioneering the evolution of Web3 creative culture and governance, will get a SWOT.
💪 Strengths (Internal) (Helpful)
1. Governance Architecture
With decentralization at the forefront of its mission statement, the Apecoin ecosystem has a very creative, novel design for its governance structure. Composed of three distinct interconnected bodies, the Apecoin DAO, the Apecoin Foundation, and the Special Council distinctly resemble the structure of the US Federal Government in the sense that each body is tasked with its own independent tasks and must keep one another accountable. Coupled with the transitory system of shuffling around the administrators within the Foundation and the election processes of the Special Council, Apecoin is definitely attempting to apply intelligent democratic design principles in its governance experimentations.
2. Strong Focus on Governance
The Apecoin project is laser-focused in its domain around creating an incredible on-chain governance framework. All of the project’s activities relate to the development of a social regulatory body and the allocation of funds. By having a narrow path, more progress can get done effectively without spreading attention around everywhere.
3. Incredible Community
Few projects have sincere Web3 native communities, and none as powerful as the one the Apecoin has. The young money that flocked into the BAYC ecosystem is inadvertently correlated (even if weakly) to Apecoin, and their influence will potentially spill over further into their social circles, ultimately attracting more attention and capital over the course of time.
4. Strongest Decentralized Brand “APE”
Crypto is known for its animal hierarchies, whales, sharks, bulls, bears, and everything in between. The last cycle of 2020–2021 gave birth to a new animal spirit; partially drawn from the debacles around Gamestop and AMC, the “Ape” came to life. Literally transcending meaning, becoming a verb, a social signal of bravery and an expression of on-chain comradery for our primitive species. Apecoin inherits this with its brand.
5. Very Active DAO
The amount of proposals and initiatives flowing through the Apecoin DAO is spectacular. Few projects have this much consistency in soliciting member opinions and publicizing their intentions. Something that deserves tremendous respect is the diligence around implementing the results of the voting and the cognizance around budget allocation.
😞 Weaknesses (Internal) (Harmful)
1. Participation in Governance Declining
The current level of engagement with the DAO proposals is around the same as they were over a year ago. When considering that the raw amount of holders has grown substantially in the same time frame, the fact that none of them are expressing interest in helping steward the project shows an implicit disregard for its fundamental existence and, in fact signals potentially fake user metrics. Additionally, the voting takes place off-chain, meaning that participation is of no cost, further creating logical dissonance as to why this is lagging.
2. Metrics are only On-Chain
While it seems obvious that the information about a crypto project should all be reflected through on-chain data, in the case of Apecoin, this is a huge issue because of the anonymity. The nature of the project, the whale-like profile of most holders, and the already shady state of the crypto industry lead to intuitions of spoofed numbers. One that sticks out like a sore thumb, in this case, is the number of new holders; despite the ravaging drawdowns of the project’s token value, its on-chain holder amount consistently grows, implying that there is always a surplus of demand that exceeds the desire of current holder from leaving.
3. Emissions to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation
New-age businesses are built on principles of donations and giving back. So many companies have shifted to allocating a portion of their income to charity because society says so. It has become a defacto premise for a lot of virtue signaling and attempts to make consumers feel good about being involved with something because of its “goodwill”. Apecoin has allocated a portion of its token supply to the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation, that is somehow related to its emission to Yuga Labs (creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club). Over the course of the tokens emission into circulation (that will last until March of 2026) a tiny fraction will be funneled away from the real contributors and value creators into the foundation so that it can continue its work. *This might be being done for some other purpose, but if so, it is not explicitly made clear.
🧐 Opportunities (External) (Helpful)
1. Down Bad
Apecoin is one of the major projects that has suffered from some of the worst performance regarding token value. The severity could have been exacerbated by the lazy distribution mechanism of enriching the BAYC NFT holders, but here the purpose is not to waste time finding who/what to blame; however, this does simultaneously present a new opportunity. The more a token depreciates in price, the more potential it has for a strong rebound in the next cycle.
2. Governance Focus
Governance is one of the most powerful applications of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies. As the digital economy continues to evolve, having robust, proven frameworks and societies already operating with them can give Apecoin a leading position where other projects try to emulate and adopt their concepts. It is said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness” and if this prophecy comes true Apecoin will become a case study upon which future decentralized autonomous organisations are built.
😳 Threats (External) (Harmful)
1. Misalignments of Incentives
This is a very edge case that is applicable to basically every crypto project equally; however, it is worth anticipating potential discrepancies that have not been properly fleshed out yet between fungible crypto projects and NFT projects. Apecoin’s strong relationship with BAYC creates a dependency dynamic that can go awry in the event that Yuga Labs ceases its operations.
Takeaway:
Apecoin is in a league of its own.
There is actually no direct competition with Apecoin and the project positions itself with deep roots in social, governance, and finance. These are core primitives to the culture of human civilization and successfully implementing them into a decentralized digital asset is huge.
Conclusion:
Mixed short-term signals on this one.
I am extremely skeptical when I see virtue signaling. Apecoin does a lot of it. To be fair, they are aware of who and what they are marketing, so it does make sense; however, it is very unattractive to me. First, become valuable, generate money, sustain yourself, then start to consider donating… Don't bake a donation model into a project that makes nothing back yet.
I really want to have faith in the project and believe that long-term Apecoin has a serious shot of becoming one of the foundational assets of the digital economy.
Considering that today every project is basically using the spray and pray approach (that is honestly a colossal turn-off), the commitment of Apecoin to stay focused on non-technical, non-copycat activity is a breath of fresh air. Recently they deployed a marketplace for trading NFTs, but that didn’t seem to hinder them much or require too much effort.
Blinded by degen rage and greed, I was a huge proponent of Apecoin at first; this has cost me dearly. Today the emotional wear could be obfuscating clear thinking about the project, but I remain long-term positive about them.
Disclaimer
I have a small bag of Apecoin that is down horrendously, and it is one of the allocations I wish that I had avoided. Regardless, I will not sell and am, in fact, now considering to start increasing my position.
If you know something that I don’t or feel as though I might have missed anything worth noting, please do share; I would tremendously appreciate some feedback.
Thank you so much for reading,
I hope this serves you well on your journey.
Live long and prosper 🥂