Animoca Brands Chair Reveals Plan For Public Listing In New York

• The co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands revealed plans for their Web3 investment company to go public in New York.
• Yat Siu explained that the positive developments in US crypto regulations present a “unique moment” for them.

The USA’s positive regulatory environment for blockchain and cryptocurrencies is luring more businesses into its jurisdiction. Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, recently revealed their plan to list their Web3 investment company in New York.

Siu told the Financial Times that the announcement pertaining to the matter will come “soon.” However, he explained they are still studying several shareholding structures. In addition, the timing of the public listing would depend on market conditions.

Animoca Brands reportedly arrived at the decision due to the “unique moment” presented by US President Donald Trump’s administration. He claimed that the situation was the opposite of the past administration under former President Joe Biden, which clamped down on innovations.

Siu pointed out that it made more sense to steer clear of the US during that time, as their operation overseas has given them a more competitive advantage. The same factor also prevented potential competitors in their space from entering the area, so it was a win-win scenario for them.

Valuation of Animoca Brands

Siu disclosed that the company’s private valuation after a series of funding rounds in 2022 was at $6 billion. It should be noted, though, that the surge in crypto prices from late last year to the present has already caused their digital asset holdings, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), ApeCoin (APE), and The Sandbox (SAND) tokens, to appreciate in valuation.

Last March, the firm’s unaudited report reflected an over 12% increase in their bookings for the 12 months ending on December 31, 2024. It rose from $280 million the year prior to $314 million. Its Digital Asset Advisory (DAA) business accounted for $165 million, while its Web3 businesses generated $110 million. Meanwhile, its investment activities resulted in $39 million in gains.

Along the way, Animoca Brands significantly reduced its annual operating expenses (excluding non-cash and non-token-based payments such as share-based payments) by 11%, from $246 million in 2023 to $217 million in 2024. It attributed the developments to the company and its subsidiaries’ enforcement of optimization initiatives in the second half of 2023. Moreover, leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) tools heavily contributed to the cost-cutting measures.

The Web3 organization’s digital assets stockpile amounted to $538 million, and its cash and stablecoin balances were $293 million at the time of the report. On the other hand, it maintained off-balance sheet token reserves of $2.9 billion, including SAND, EDU, Moca Network (MOCA), and GMEE.