I just ape’d into an ape on Bitcoin.
There’s more to it than cryptographic hashes, it’s an ape-tastic allegory.
Written by Ape #1397
Original posting: https://app.sigle.io/stacks_ecbsj.id.stx/a2zBshmsMy-nlvGhja3TC
The iconic 1968 movie, Planet of the Apes, is a movie that not only runs deep in cinema success but also a story that can still reverberate a premonition to modern day society. In a classic final scene of the movie, the main characters of the human-played Taylor and the ape-played Dr. Zaius exchange dialogue which turns out to be a warning to man’s prerogative:
“Taylor: A planet where apes evolved from men? There’s got to be an answer.
Dr. Zaius: Don’t look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find.”
-’Planet Of The Apes’.
The movie eventually morphed into a sci-fi media franchise spawning multiple sequels and remakes. Despite its cultural impact and talking points it receives on certain issues such as race, politics, and animal rights, it’s ultimate message still rings true as we see this digitization trend unraveling before our eyes as real-life global social upheaval continues to disappoint us.
As bizarre as this article title may sound to some unfamiliar with the Web3 scene unfolding before us, PAUSE, give me a minute to explain. And for those familiar with the second usage of “ape” but unfamiliar with the first usage of “ape”, PAUSE. I will also elaborate on my seemingly newfound unprecedented way of investing.
(Warning: There will be many ape references as you may have guessed)
There comes a time and place for new revolutions to “cross the chasm” as they say. Bitcoin did it when Laszlo purchased two pies of Papa Johns. Caesar did it when he forcefully confronted Rocket and claimed position as alpha chimp in the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes. And now Stacks is doing it with a wild collection of pixelated apes on bitcoin.
Pixelated apes?!
Let’s pivot for a minute.
Deep, deep down inside each of us, is in fact the curious beastly nature of, as referenced above, an ape. Being an evolution of what we see as present day apes, it’s sometimes hard to fathom that they are our early ancestors. In fact, we ARE technically apes, under the hominid family of apes. Without even needing to venture out into the jungle, you’ll see glimpses of what we perceive as “ape activity” every autumn weekend in the designated man cave of certain households protruding a concoction of pant-hootin’ and hollerin’. It’s until we witness those moments when we do realize how eerily closely related we are to the hairy version of apes.
From our casual definition of apes, what are they? They are highly intelligent human-like tailless primates that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But the commonality between all of them is their god-like strength.
We’ve all seen videos of apes in packs either at zoos or in the movies. Doesn’t matter if you get one, two, or a group of apes aggravated, there is no escaping the painful, sometimes cruel, physical life-ending punishment unraveling before your eyes. Apes have profound physical strength. When they’re together, that strength is seemingly multiplied. Or as Cesar has once said, “Apes, together, strong”.
But that same communal strength can also be used for good.
So where are we going with this ape conversation?
Well, if you haven’t noticed, but the past year the NFT scene has been blowing up with people changing their social media profile pictures to images of apes. For reasons some may find just as odd as the odd behavior of a furry orange orangutan.
But the ape melee theme in the NFT space is wildly popular for several reasons. Firstly, being is our long innate fascination with using these creatures in our pop culture. Secondly, is the unexplainable swarms of money being thrown into these projects one can only describe as “ape follow ape” behavior. And thirdly, is the emblematic peculiar timeframe we are in with this burgeoning industry. As early apes are early representations of human lifeform, the early glimpses of the capabilities we’ve seen with NFTs are still surely in its infant beginning stages. Or as the proverbial phrase that every crypto native boldly spouts: “We’re still so early”.
For anyone new to the space, including OGs or maxis, the Megapont NFT scene is the best way to get started. The Megapont Ape Club is a collection of pixelated apes that have “evolved at an accelerated rate due to a genetic mutation and as such are considered the kingmakers” within the fictional universe of Megapont. It’s thriving, organic community gives it a fun taste to the NFT scene all while having a familiar relation to something we all respect: Bitcoin. As the community puts it, these apes are not just “on Bitcoin”, but rather they are anchored by “…the most secure, most durable, and most decentralized blockchain that has the most users, most capital, and biggest brand in crypto”.
Sure they’re modeled after apes with a touch of pixelated swagger, but these Megapont Apes are getting another evolutionary calling through a soon-to-be forming of a DAO, a common native currency of $MEGA, an Atomic Banana Bridge allowing the apes to travel interstellar amongst blockchain networks, and much more. As Stacks has unleashed bitcoin’s expressive smart contract potential, Megapont has unleashed the rallying potential of what a real ape NFT community should encapsulate.
“All of human history has led to this moment. The irony is we created you. And nature has been punishing us ever since. This is our last stand. And if we lose… it will be a Planet of Apes.”
- The Colonel.
So in a metaphorical sense, are we reverting back to our beastly ancestors in the way we want to approach the spawning crypto scene? Are we mirroring ourselves as “apes” in an industry that is still so early and still so hard to tell on what may come of it? Or are these ape NFTs a harbinger and medium for us to morph our physical beings onto a native digital asset, allowing us to ape-ly explore and experiment with a digital metaverse we are still trying to understand?
To come full circle and touch back on the opening of this piece, the exploding crypto industry is just a reflection of what we are trying to avoid: a trepidation of the pitfalls of greedy government ruled money and full authoritarian control over humans amongst nation states. Perhaps these ape NFTs, and the rest of the crypto sphere, is a way of avoiding a potential downfall from what we see all wrong with societal, political, and economic structures of human civilization.
As the decentralized crypto space has given rise to the third characteristic of Web3: Ownership, metaphorically we can give rise to our own freedom as a digital native on the internet without being controlled by a centralized server. In once what Web2 entities thought control over internet natives was inevitable, cryptography and decentralized networks have now made them realize those same internet natives are not as inferior as before.
The original Planet of the Apes reflected the counterculture of the 1960s. Let the Megapont Ape NFTs reflect the counterculture of the 2020s. Ape NFTs come off as bizarre and esoteric to conservatives (nocoiners), but let it be a beacon of change we possibly need.
“Dr. Zira: Taylor! Don’t treat him that way!
Taylor: Why not?
Dr. Zira: It’s humiliating!
Taylor: The way you humiliated me? All of you? You led me around on a leash!
Cornelius: That was different. We thought you were inferior.
Taylor: Now you know better.”
- ‘Planet Of The Apes’.
In crypto parlance, “ape-ing in” refers to the happy-go-lucky, shoot-to-the-moon hopes that crypto investors place on their blind gambling-like investments. But trust me, as like a normal risk averse investor would, proper “crypto due diligence” was conducted. There are no clout-chasing VCs or fake online influencers shamelessly shilling this project. It’s purely organic. And as a bitcoiner, doing cool organic things on bitcoin is emblematic of the network.
But there is more to it than just pixelated artistic forms of wild apes. It’s an open and welcoming community within the Stacks ecosystem. It’s a signal that NFTs and all the other expressive smart contract applications we see on other Layer 1’s, can also be implemented within the Bitcoin ecosystem. For the ill informed, bitcoin may just seem like a static single functional application, but the reality is that layers can be stacked on top of the base chain in unleashing all the fantasies and realities we want to see in the decentralized web.
As early as we still are for bitcoin and the crypto space, we’re all still exploring its potentials by tinkering with every possible innovation. In its sense, we are all apes. Primitive in technology, ape-ly curious in application, and pixelated as to the unclear but colorful future we are headed to.
Apes, together, on bitcoin.
