Ape Coin (APE) is the native cryptocurrency of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), the global top-ranked NFT trading ecosystem. While the altcoin markets suffered a massive drop amid regulators’ crackdown in early June, the NFT sector remained relatively stable, showing its qualities as a non-speculatory store of value. 

Crypto Market Rises, NFTs Fall? 

Coingecko data shows that the altcoin markets retraced 11% between May 31 and June 18. Meanwhile, BAYC experienced heightened trading volume, and its floor price grew marginally from 45.8ETH to 46.9ETH.

And since the crypto market began to gain around June 19, BAYC began to lose traction drastically. This indicates that investors began reallocating capital into other altcoin markets for trading opportunities. 

This bearish trend now threatens to spread toward APE Coin, the native token of the BAYC ecosystem, this week as well. 

APE Coin Has Struggled to Attract New Users This Week

With the host NFT ecosystem losing traction, APE Coin also struggles to attract new users this week. Glassnode data below show that APE Coin Network Growth has declined since June 18, when BAYC floor price and trading volume began to drop. 

Between June 18 and June 23, APE Coin Network Growth is down 65% from 674 to 237 new wallet addresses. 

Network Growth measures the rate at which a blockchain network attracts new users by summing up the daily number of new addresses created. As seen above, even as the APE Coin price rose earlier this week, it failed to attract new users. 

In summary, APE Coin derives utility from the BAYC ecosystem. And with the fortunes of APE Coin holders almost inextricably linked to the NFT world.

Evidently, the negative divergence above has played a critical role in the ongoing price correction. And if it remains unchanged, APE Coin may struggle to break out of the bearish trend. 

APE Price Prediction: A New-All Time Low Below $2?

Based on the aforementioned factors, APE Coin price looks set to drop to a new all-time low below $2. But, currently, the 776 addresses that bought 5.82 million APE tokens for an average of $2.12 are expected to offer considerable support.

If that support folds, as expected, the APE Coin price will likely decline toward $2. 

Still, the APE Coin bulls can negate this bearish narrative if the APE price rises above $2.25. But as seen above, some of the 1,170 addresses holding 3.79 million tokens at the maximum price of $2.25 could pose significant resistance. 

Nevertheless, if that resistance level does not hold, the APE Coin could head toward the $3 milestone. 

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