ApeCoin (APE) has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies due to its heavy use within the community of non-fungible token (NFT) collectors.
Specifically, this is a cryptocurrency used throughout an ecosystem developed by Yuga Labs, the company that originally launched the popular NFT collection “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” or BAYC for short.
Before we go over how you can mine ApeCoin, let’s go over everything you need to know about the cryptocurrency first, as well as how it works, so you can make a decision of mining ApeCoin provides the right opportunity for you.
The Rise of ApeCoin
Yuga Labs, for months, hinted that they would launch a lot of new projects; however, not many people knew what to expect. Keep in mind that this was a company simply known for its NFT set at the time.
However, on March 17, 2022, we saw ApeCoin start trading, a cryptocurrency that was at first exclusively distributed to holders of Bored Ape and Mutant Ape non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
It was at this point in time when the APE cryptocurrency truly shined in terms of its value.
On April 28, 2022, the APE cryptocurrency reached its all-time high point of value at $26.70.
This rapid spike in value showcased that Yuga Labs didn’t just create a new cryptocurrency but something much bigger.
ApeCoin’s Utility
Yuga Labs has the mission of creating their own metaverse, their own exclusive club, and their own system in which ApeCoin (APE) has its own set of utilities associated with it.
Specifically, ApeCoin is the governance and utility token of BAYC, as well as Otherside.
Otherside is the 3D metaverse that offers a gaming format for all of the holders of the Bored Ape NFT collection.
It was created in collaboration with Animoca Brands and is powered by the ApeCoin (APE) cryptocurrency. ApeCoin, is, in a way, the decentralized protocol layer for a lot of different initiatives that are led by the community.
ApeCoin holders are given the opportunity to govern the project themselves through the decentralized governance framework known as the ApeCoin DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
Here, they can vote on how the ApeCoin DAO ecosystem fund will be used in the future.
Alongside this, there’s also the APE Foundation, which is responsible for administering the proposals which are previously agreed upon by the holders of the ApeCoin cryptocurrency.
With this in mind, let’s now explore if you can actually mine the ApeCoin cryptocurrency and how to do so.
Can you mine, and should you mine ApeCoin?
From a technical point of view, the ApeCoin (APE) cryptocurrency is essentially a cryptocurrency built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. What this means is that it follows the ERC-20 token standard.
Prior to the switch to ETH 2.0, which is the Ethereum blockchain, which is set to occur throughout late 2022, although no official date is set yet, by default, the blockchain network utilizes a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
What this essentially means is that, in order for transactions to get verified on top of the Ethereum blockchain, miners, which are computers that run the software, can use their time and computational power to process transactions through the process of producing blocks.
Once a block gets verified and its data authenticated to prevent “double spending,” the miner that ends up confirming the block gets rewarded in the form of the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency.
This means that ApeCoin is indeed a cryptocurrency that can be mined, but not in a way that you might think.
ApeCoin is not directly mineable per se.
This is extremely important to understand before you get into mining altcoins. Many altcoins will not be directly mined. You will be provided access to software that will indeed use your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or Central Processing Unit (CPU) to mine another cryptocurrency, such as the aforementioned Ether (ETH), or Monero (XMR) in many cases, after which that cryptocurrency will be converted into ApeCoin (APE), and transferred to your cryptocurrency wallet.
Now that we have cleared the air on how all of that works, here are some of the best ways through which you can start mining ApeCoin (APE).
Step-by-Step Guide on Mining ApeCoin
Remember that this guide is for educational purposes only. You should only invest in cryptocurrencies or start mining cryptocurrencies at your own risk.
There is no guarantee that ApeCoin will climb or fall in value in the future, so ensure that you are doing this out of your own will and belief that the project will succeed.
As of June 13, 2022, the APE coin trades at a value of $3.57 and has a market capitalization of $1,028,504,375.
For the purpose of mining ApeCoin, we will be using software known as “unMineable.”
Alongside unMineable, you also have a miner known as the ApeCoin Miner that you can utilize as an alternative. You can also try both options and figure out which one gives you better rewards based on your specific hardware.
With that in mind, we will now be moving on with unMineable.
Step 1: Ensure that you create a cryptocurrency wallet if you do not have one.
This can either be a custodial wallet or a non-custodial wallet; it is ultimately up to you.
For the easiest experience, you can use an on-exchange wallet.
However, it is always recommended that you use a cryptocurrency wallet that you have full control over. This means that it is a wallet where you control the private keys and passphrase, and only you can ever access it, not an exchange, not a brokerage, nobody else.
Step 2: Check the minimum requirements.
You can navigate to the ApeCoin section found on the unMineable website and see the minimum requirements for each specific algorithm that can be used.
Some prefer using the GPU, while others prefer using the CPU. It is up to you to decide which role your system fills best here.
Now, it is important to know that for the estimated payouts, unless you have an extremely beefy computer, they will likely be under that specific estimate.
Due to the fact that in the world, there is currently a shortage of GPUs, we will be focusing on using the CPU for this specific guide. This is due to the fact that just about everyone has a CPU and can utilize it to mine ApeCoin currently. If you have a GPU, it is likely better to use that instead.
Step 3: Create a folder that you can exclude
For the purposes of this guide, we are using the Windows 10 operating system. Windows 11 works extremely similar to this as well, and any previous version of Windows can also be configured to enable exclusions. The reason Windows is chosen is due to the fact that it is one of the most widely used operating systems on a global scale in terms of percentage.
Click on the Documents folder or any other folder where you want to create a sub folder named “unMineable.”
Once you create that specific folder, you can click on Start and type in “Windows Security.”
Then, head over to the “Virus and Threat Protection” menu by searching for it directly, or accessing it through the Settings tab directly.
Scroll down to “Manage Settings” and click on “Add or remove exclusions” on the Exclusions portion of the menu.
Click on “+ Add an Exclusion,” after which you can click on “Folder.”
Navigate to the folder you previously created, or create a new one directly here. It is in this folder where you will download and install the unMineable software package.
While you are in the “Virus & Threat protection settings,” you can also turn off “Real-time protection .” Once you are done downloading the miner, turn this back on.
On your internet browser of choice, go to settings, click on privacy and security, and click on “Security .” Navigate to the “Safe Browsing” section, and select “No Protection .” Once you download the miner, remember to change this setting back to “Standard Protection.”
The reason why this is required is due to the fact that any time you download a miner, any miner at all, no matter who the developer is, your computer is going to see it as a “Virus” or as a “threat .” This is why we needed to create an exclusion folder so that Windows security could ignore it completely.
Step 4: Download unMineable Miner or any other miner of your choice
Note that you do not have to specifically use unMineable, as there are numerous miners out there that are available for you to pick from. This is just one of the simplest solutions currently available.
You can download specific miners for your specific GPU or CPU. For the time being, click on the “Download” button, and click on the green “MFI Version” that has everything included by default.
Make sure to download it to the unMineable exclusion folder. Once it’s there, click on extract all, click on it, and extract it.
Now, once a .exe file has been extracted, you can click on it. A Windows dialogue box will appear showcasing that Windows Defender SmartScreen has prevented an unrecognized app from running. Click on “More Info,” followed by “Run Anyway.”
Here, you can install it through the standard installation process.
Step 5: Run the miner
Click on the icon that’s on your desktop, and select your mining hardware which can either be a GPU or a CPU. Click on “Next.”
On the top section titled “Select a coin or token,” you need to select the ApeCoin cryptocurrency. In the bottom dialogue box, enter your wallet address.
Make sure you only enter the ApeCoin wallet address here. Simply click on “Start,” and your computer will begin mining the cryptocurrency.
Here is How To Add ApeCoin (APE) To MetaMask?
The Future of ApeCoin
ApeCoin (APE) as a cryptocurrency is a unique project created by a team that saw a tremendous level of success with their Bored Apes NFT collection. They are utilizing the token in numerous ways, as it is used to power the Otherside metaverse alongside all of their NFT collections.
Cryptocurrencies are volatile, and while there is no guarantee that this token can spike in value, it is a solid project by a reputable team, and some might be interested in mining it. Hopefully, now you know a bit more about how you can do so.