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he ApeCoin DAO has rolled out its own blockchain, ApeChain, using Arbitrum Orbit tech. The new chain is designed to make development easier and fix long-standing performance issues that slowed down the ApeCoin ecosystem.
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ApeCoin’s move to a dedicated chain came after real issues during peak usage. A big turning point was the Otherside NFT mint from Yuga Labs, which caused over $157 million in Ethereum gas fees. Many users saw failed transactions or lost money. That exposed how unprepared the network was for high demand.
Beyond that, $APE lacked a clear home. It lived across multiple blockchains, making it harder for developers to build consistent tools or apps. ApeChain solves this by bringing everything together under one scalable, developer-focused system.
ApeCoin DAO looked at several options including Optimism, Polygon, and zkSync. After a vote, Arbitrum Orbit was selected, with around half the community supporting the move. The decision centered on a few things: Orbit works well with Ethereum, supports custom gas tokens like $APE, and includes developer tools that are already familiar to many.
One of those tools is Stylus, which lets builders code in Rust and C++. That opens the door for more advanced apps, especially in gaming and complex DeFi tools. Cross-chain support also mattered, so LayerZero was added to make sure assets could move across networks easily.
From launch, ApeChain came ready with strong infrastructure. Alchemy and Nirvana handle RPC services, Pyth Network feeds oracle data, and Etherscan was integrated for transaction tracking. Goldsky and Covalent manage data indexing, giving builders plenty of backend support.
The ecosystem took off fast. A meme coin launchpad called ApeExpress saw 55 tokens go live within 24 hours. Some even hit multi-million dollar market caps. As of now, more than 60 applications run on ApeChain—including games, reward platforms, and trading tools.
Block times can go as low as 100 milliseconds, and shared costs with Arbitrum One keep fees low. That means fast and affordable development, especially compared to running apps directly on Ethereum.
By using $APE as the gas token and consolidating development tools, ApeChain gives the ApeCoin DAO control over its future growth. The infrastructure puts everything in one place for builders, reduces friction, and positions the ecosystem for wider adoption.