Ape Terminal Review (2025): The Latest Open-Access Crypto Launchpad

Crypto launchpads offer early entry investment opportunities to upcoming token projects and startups. Ape Terminal is one of the latest launchpad platforms in 2025 and one of the only open-access sites for participating in various IDOs (Initial DEX offerings).

This Ape Terminal review showcases the launchpad’s features, project launch capabilities, and the platform’s other offerings. We’ll also discuss how you can participate in Ape Terminal’s IDOs and explore the performance of past projects hosted on the site.

What is Ape Terminal?

Launched in November 2023, Ape Terminal quickly established itself as a leading open-access launchpad platform amid a competitive market. The Web3 platform boasts an average 1,300% user ROI (return on investment) and offers its launchpad services to over 50 countries.

By showcasing some of the most promising new crypto projects, Ape Terminal has garnered over 500,000 active accounts and is gaining 4,000 more users daily. Thanks to the platform’s non-token gated model, interested IDO participants can quickly join Ape Terminal and find the upcoming best crypto to buy.

Additionally, the Ape Terminal platform claims to maximize user returns by ensuring that projects are listed on primary exchanges at the end of their token sales. The launchpad also features a refund policy on the day of a project’s Token Generation Event (TGE), where users can request a refund instead of claiming the launch tokens.

The Ape Terminal team rigorously assesses new crypto projects featured on Ape Terminal. The analysis side of the platform evaluates the project’s narrative, marketing, and distribution resources, and potential to list in exchanges after gaining traction.

Ape Terminal Features & Services

Let’s discuss Ape Terminal’s offerings and features, from its crypto launchpad to upcoming services, in more detail.

Open-Access Launchpad

One of the main challenges facing the crypto launchpad industry is the prevalence of token-gated platforms. These typically require a high barrier to entry, which can significantly limit user participation.

By eliminating the token-holding requirement, Ape Terminal’s launchpad platform allows users to participate in crypto presales without any upfront costs. This model enabled the platform to outperform some competitors in terms of participation, helping startups build their user base and funding while giving investors better access to IDOs.

Other features of the Ape Launchpad include:

• Superior Listings: Because projects that list on top exchanges perform better, Ape Terminal ensures its projects secure these listings.

• Tailored Approach: Ape Terminal handles only a limited number of startups at a time, allowing for more substantial partnerships.

• Refund Policy: Most upcoming token sales are refundable, enabling users to request a refund on claimable tokens. The request period will be open for 24 hours after the TGE.

• Opening Day Volume: Based on Ape Terminal’s project history, its crypto presales captured some of the highest market volumes during token launch day.

Ape Arcade

Ape Terminal’s Ape Arcade is a Web3 platform that showcases various original games for users to play in their web browsers. Currently, the site has over 1.7 million active arcade players. Ape Arcade spans different genres, including clicker, puzzle, runner, and dungeon crawler games.

In addition to the entertainment value of Ape Arcade’s games, players have a good opportunity to earn in-game rewards through the best play-to-earn games on the platform. The token can be used to pay for virtual items, rank on the leaderboards, and opportunities for additional Ape Points, Ape Terminal’s ecosystem currency.

To play games on the Ape Arcade, users must log in with a Google account, Telegram, or a Web3 crypto wallet. Recommended wallets include the following:

Transparent Project Reports

Ape Terminal is more than a platform for finding the latest projects and the next crypto to explode. It aims to build trust within its own community through fair and secure transactions. The launchpad’s transparency page shows the key details of all completed project sales, including total participants, all winners, and the smart contract proof of the selection process.

Regarding the IDO process, Ape Terminal utilizes a VRF-based model, ensuring a transparent selection that is safe from exploits. A list of all winning wallet addresses is also published on the transparency for future reference. Ape Terminal provides a DeBank dashboard view of each address.

KYC is not required for those applying to participate in an IDO on Ape Terminal. However, KYC is required for users who win and want to contribute to the launchpad crypto project. Users who win but do not contribute to the project get their allocation backstopped by the treasury, ensuring that the IDO is still completed.

Launch Pools Upcoming Feature

Ape Terminal’s soon-to-release feature, Launch Pools, gives users indirect exposure to crypto presales. By staking different crypto, from stablecoins to blue-chip tokens like Ethereum ($ETH) and Bitcoin ($BTC), individuals are eligible to earn a share of a launchpad project’s token.

The share is based on the size of the user’s stake compared to other participants. The size also depends on the lock-in duration of staking in the launch pool. There are no limits to the amount that Ape Terminal users can stake in the launch pool, and this feature was announced to be released in the first quarter of 2025.

Top Projects Launched on Ape Terminal

Here are three top presales and best crypto ICOs hosted on Ape Terminal, highlighting the platform’s startup fundraising capabilities.

Ink Finance ($QUILL)

Built on the Avalanche network, Ink Finance is a financial infrastructure tailored to different DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), RWA (real-world asset) originators, and protocols. The project raised 1.6 million $USDC and had a 0.6 $USDC token launch price of $QUILL.

Today, $QUILL is listed on the top centralized exchanges, KuCoin and BingX, and Trader Joe, one of the leading Avalanche decentralized exchanges. Ink Finance’s all-time high prices, presale investors saw 266% returns. However, the token is currently trading lower than its launch price.

Sui DePIN ($SUIDEPIN)

Another impressive crypto startup project on Ape Terminal is Sui DePIN. The launch raised $820,000 with a launch price of 0.00255 $USDC for the $SUIDEPIN native token. The sale had nearly 50,000 participants and 3,280 winning tickets.

Sui DePIN is built on Solana and is the first DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) on the Sui ($SUI) Layer-1 blockchain. Following the DePIN coins trend, the project gave presale buyers 831% returns when $SUIDEPIN peaked in value.

BeFi Labs ($BEFI)

Based on the Ethereum chain, BeFi Labs is a centralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) project that enables users to trade crypto assets and provide liquidity with BRC-20 tokens. The sale raised $600,000 and featured the native token, $BEFI, at a $0.05 launch price.

The platform supports leading Bitcoin wallets like MetaMask and Phantom while enabling zero-fee trading for BRC-20 tokens. Thanks to its fast transaction fees and revenue-share model, BeFi reached all-time market cap highs of 870% of its launch price.

How to Join Crypto Launches on Ape Terminal

Registering for a token presale on Ape Terminal will take under 30 seconds, but contributing and claiming tokens requires a few more steps. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough detailing all the requirements to join the high-risk, high-reward crypto projects.

Step 1: Create an Ape Terminal Account

Visit the Ape Terminal Web3 app and click ‘Login’ on the top right of the page. The platform requires users to connect a Google account by clicking ‘Sign in With Google’. Ape Terminal will automatically set up your account after linking to Google.

Although not entirely necessary, having an Ape Terminal account gives you referral bonuses that help boost your chances of winning allocations on IDOs.

Step 2: Link Your Wallet

Next, link your crypto wallet to your Ape Terminal account. As a multi-chain platform, the launchpad supports the most popular mobile and browser-based wallets. If you don’t have one already, Best Wallet is an excellent and free app that Ape Terminal supports.

Click ‘Connect Wallet’ on your account dashboard and select the wallet app that you want to connect to Ape Terminal. You can use WalletConnect for the QR code to scan for mobile wallets. Browser-based wallets like Phantom and MetaMask will be connected straight from the platform.

Step 3: Complete the KYC

After completing the steps and authorizing Ape Terminal’s connection to your crypto wallet, the next step is to complete the KYC verification. Again, this process is not required for registering in IDOs but is required for users who win allocations.

Click ‘Complete KYC’ to open the Blockpass verification pop-up. You’ll be asked to provide a valid ID, such as a passport, driving license, or national ID. Enter your email address so the platform can verify the information provided and send the KYC app to your mobile device. Follow the instructions to complete the KYC process.

Step 4: Choose and Join an IDO

Finally, you can start searching for a crypto presale on the Ape Terminal investment portal. A featured project will appear at the top of the page, followed by some live and upcoming sales for you to join. Find an active sale and select ‘Participate Now’ to confirm your entry, officially registering you for the campaign.

Follow the team on Telegram and X/Twitter to stay updated on the sale. When the winners’ list is published, head to the transparency page to check if your wallet has been selected. If you’re among the winners, you can contribute your crypto to secure a winning spot. Once the token project is listed and available, you can claim your tokens through the platform.

What Makes Ape Terminal Special?

The terminal launched at the end of 2023 but has raised over $15.5 million for the 64 projects it helped start as of writing. This is no simple feat for a new launchpad platform and is a great sign for Ape Terminal’s future potential in the Web3 space.

According to the Ape Terminal quarterly launchpad report, the launchpad platform has drawn the highest participation count in the industry. The high participation volume can be attributed to Ape Terminal’s zero upfront cost model, as a standard two-day opening project sale on the platform already attracts 50,000 participants.

Another unique aspect of Ape Terminal is its follow-on funding. It’s currently the only launchpad that enables projects to gain funding from a community beyond the typical launch presale. As a result, several crypto projects launched on the platform secured an additional $2-8 million each through liquidity bootstrap pools (LBPs) that facilitate the follow-on funding.

Ape Terminal Future Outlook and Milestones

As a new platform, Ape Terminal will look to increase its market share, improve its offerings, and provide more value for its users overall. We’ve observed several updates since Ape Terminal was released, including a renewed refund policy that lets users refund their allocations for specific project launches.

While the team has not made any broad announcements regarding its goals for the future, it continues to launch new projects and market them on X and Telegram. One of the platform’s upcoming features, Launch Pools, is scheduled to release in the first quarter of 2025.

The Team Behind Ape Terminal

According to Tracxn, Ape Terminal is a funded company founded by crypto expert Hatu Sheikh. The website also states that the platform has two institutional investors, Almora Capital and Maven Capital.

Although the official Ape Terminal website does not mention any of its developers or team, the launchpad boasts over 300,000 followers on X and a Telegram crypto community of over 20,000 members.

Ape Terminal Pros & Cons

Is Ape Terminal the Best Launchpad in 2025?

Ape Terminal has a short but relatively successful track record, given that it’s still a new platform in the crypto market. While its non-token gated model and zero upfront fees allow it to garner thousands of participants, the launchpad still has plenty of room for improvement. Specifically, user trust needs to be fortified following token launch controversies and scam accusations.

Consequently, we believe Best Wallet is the better launchpad option than Ape Terminal. As a free and non-custodial Web3 app, Best Wallet and its Upcoming Tokens launchpad offer several features that make it the best launchpad for 2025.

More than anything, Best Wallet’s token launchpad gives access to trusted early crypto presales that quickly gain traction. So far, Best Wallet’s launchpad projects have been supported by leading publications and have raised tens of millions. For instance, Solaxy, one of the presale projects on Best Wallet, has raised nearly $17 million in less than two months.

In contrast, Ape’s projects typically don’t raise more than $1 million, with its largest sale garnering $1.6 million. Follow-on funding may bring the raise to $8 million, but that still pales in comparison to some of the Best Wallet token launchpad’s top projects, like Wall Street Pepe, which raised over $60 million in just 53 days.

To access the Best Wallet token launchpad, users must hold the native token, $BEST. Although this does mean that Best Wallet Token’s launchpad uses a token-gated model, there is no minimum amount of $BEST to hold to gain access to the launchpad.

Additionally, users can buy the native crypto in the $BEST Token presale for a fraction of the token’s future price. Holding $BEST gives individuals reduced transaction fees across the Best Wallet ecosystem and higher staking rewards through the platform’s staking aggregator.

Conclusion

Given its novelty in the crypto launchpad ecosystem, Ape Terminal has hosted multiple successful crypto presales with commendable ROI for inventors. However, the platform can still improve regarding KYC requirements and controversial token launches.

Therefore, Best Wallet is the more appropriate launchpad alternative to the Terminal platform. With Best Wallet, token holders get exclusive access to high-potential crypto projects. Get $BEST Token today and find the best presales through the Best Wallet token launchpad.

FAQs

References

• CeDeFi Definition (CoinMarketCap)
• Launchpad Report Web3 General (Ape Terminal)
• Ape Terminal – Company Profile – Tracxn (Tracxn)
• SatoshiVM token dips as much as 38% amid Ape Terminal controversy on X (Cointelegraph)