(Bloomberg) — ApeCoin owners have decided to keep the token, which is expected to be key to snagging exclusive metaverse game items and deals, on the Ethereum blockchain despite its high transaction fees.
About 54% voted in favor of keeping the token on Ethereum, according to tracker Snapshot. Around 3.8 million tokens voted in favor of staying with 3.3 million against, Snapshot showed. A large chunk of the coins belongs to its creators including Andreessen Horowitz and Animoca Brands.
The debate over whether to stay on Ethereum was sparked when the network’s transaction fees spiked during the sale of virtual land called Otherdeeds in May. Buyers, some of whom were ApeCoin owners, ended up paying more in transaction fees than for the virtual land itself. Startup Yuga Labs, which helped facilitate the sale and is known for creating Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible tokens, said the ApeCoin community governing the token needs to consider creating its own chain.
Read More: Buyers in the $320 Million ‘Otherdeeds’ NFT Sales Are Underwater
ApeCoin advanced about 2.2% after the vote to $5.86, according to CoinGecko pricing. The token remains 78% below its peak in late April.
A number of crypto apps have swapped chains before, and even some decentralized exchanges including Uniswap that got started on Ethereum have expanded onto other networks. Startup Dapper Labs, for example, has created its own chain, Flow, for games and digital collectibles.
But the decision to move to another blockchain is not straightforward.
“Migrating to a different chain is a costly, risky, and complex endeavor with many moving parts that may, if not thoughtfully considered, result in catastrophic loss, or at worst, abandonment by Yuga Labs and other entities” that are important to ApeCoin, according to the proposal the owners voted.
The vote in favor of staying on Ethereum doesn’t preclude ApeCoin owners from considering moving the token to a so-called Layer 2 blockchain which uses Ethereum as its backbone but offers lower transaction costs, the proposal said.
(Updates with ApeCoin price in fourth paragraph.)
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