Apecoin price surges to 6-month peak following Arbitrum partnership

Apecoin price soared above $1.90 for the first time in six months after the community passed a proposal to launch a new project on the Arbitrum network.

After a torrid 2023 that saw Apecoin (APE) price drop to an all-time low, the fortunes of the BoredApeYacht Club governance token has taken a dramatic positive turn in 2024, thanks to strategic whales’ buying trend. 

The latest partnership with Arbitrum (ARB) driving APE’s price above the $2 milestone still remains to be seen. 

Apecoin price surges 21%, launching ApeChain on Arbitrum

Dwindling investor interest in the global NFTs sector has significantly impacted Apecoin’s BAYC ecosystem. Inevitably, the native APE token price took a dramatic tumble over the past year, sinking to an all-time low of $1.01 on Oct. 10 of last year. 

However, things have taken a positive turn in the past month, as the Apecoin DAO began to execute fresh initiatives to revive the once-top charting NFT ecosystem. 

On Feb. 16, the 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, scoring 51% of the votes, ahead of Polygon’s CDK, Optimism (OP) and Ethereum’s ZKSync. 

The decision resonated among Apecoin investors, driving volatile price action. According to price trends, APE’s price had hit 18% gains in the first half of Feb. 15. 

After the community proposal was passed in favor of Arbitrum on Feb. 16, the rally accelerated by another 20% in the next four trading days, driving APE price to a six month peak of $1.90 on Feb. 19. 

APE’s price saw a 13% pullback in the last 48 hours between Feb. 19 and Feb. 21, sparking concerns of a bearish sell-the-news cycle. 

Delving into the on-chain trail, the data shows that Apecoin whale investors still hold firm, which signals long-term bullish sentiment. 

Crypto whales go in on the Apecoin rally with $40 million inflows 

Apecoin’s recent tumble appears to have been driven largely by retail investors and swing traders who rapidly booked profits as APE price hit a six-month peak on the heels of the Arbitrum partnership on Feb. 16. 

On a more positive note, on-chain data shows that corporate entities and and high net-worth whale investors on the Apecoin ecosystem have maintained their bullish stance amid the price downtrend. 

Santiment’s chart depicts the cumulative balances in wallets holding at least 10 million APE tokens — around $15 million — showing that whales have been buying since the turn of the year. 

Since Jan. 1, whales spent approximately $40 million acquiring 21.8 million APE, bringing balances to 61.1 million APE at press time on Feb. 21. 

Despite dramatic price volatility in the past week, whales have 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 heightened turbulence as observed in the Apecoin markets this week, it indicates prevailing bullish sentiment among large investors and institutional traders. 

The willingness to accumulate significant amounts of APE amidst market volatility suggests confidence in the project’s long-term prospects and belief that ApecoinDAO’s fresh initiatives, including the Arbitrum partnership, will yield positive outcomes for the overall ecosystem. 

Apecoin price forecast: Bulls could stage rebound from $1.50

Based on the bullish disposition observed among whales and the potential ecosystem boost promised by the newly launched Apechain, APE price will likely enter an early rebound toward $2 in the weeks ahead. 

With the ongoing profit-taking wave, APE bulls must first defend the $1.50 support level to stand a chance of an early rebound. 

IntoTheBlock’s global in/out of the money chart below shows that 9,630 current holders had acquired 268,340 million APE at the minimum price of $1.50. 

Considering that this is the largest cluster of investors that bought APE below the current prices, Apecoin will likely avoid a reversal below that level. However, if the support buy-wall caves, APE’s price could tumble toward $1.

On the upside, some bullish news has emanated from the NFT sector in recent weeks. Given BAYC’s historical importance to the NFT world, this development could spur the APE whales to keep up their year-long buying trend.

If this scenario plays out, the bulls can stage an early price rebound toward $2, as predicted. 

APE’s 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 at the bottom.