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BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

The future of Animoca Brands lies in becoming a public-market proxy for the broader web3 economy, co-founder and chairman Yat Siu tells Axios Pro.

Why it matters: The Hong Kong-based web3 operator, investor and adviser now functions like an "altcoin index," Siu says.

The firm is considering a return to the public markets, potentially through a U.S. IPO.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.)

Q: You've been spending more time in the U.S. lately. What brings you to New York this week?

Siu: "The U.S. is becoming the crypto capital of the world, especially New York. There's a lot of capital markets activity, both for us and for portfolio companies... If you're global in crypto, you have to be here."

Speaking of capital markets, you've hinted that you want to go public again. What's the latest status?

"I can't comment on timing, but we've said before that being in public capital markets is important for us. 

The U.S. would have been unthinkable a year ago, but it's now a real option. It's the deepest pool of liquidity, so we'd be foolish not to study it."

How should investors value Animoca, given how different your model is from exchanges and a lack of public comps?

"In simple terms, we're a levered bet on altcoins — a proxy for everything beyond bitcoin. Animoca indexes the rest.

We own stakes in over 600 projects, most of which haven't launched tokens yet. When they do, we already hold a position. That gives investors exposure to the entire ecosystem rather than picking individual winners."

How does your operating side — namely, gaming and platform — fit in with that broader thesis?

"Those generate real, profitable revenue that lets us keep investing. Unlike a venture fund, we invest off our balance sheet, so we can take long-term positions and reinvest the yield from our holdings. 

That's why being public eventually makes sense."

You regularly publish financials even though you're a private company. Why?

"We're effectively a public company that's just unlisted. We have thousands of shareholders, all with common stock and no preferred rights. Shares trade on secondary markets like Hiive and Forge. 

We think transparency is important, especially as we move toward being public again."

Republic and Solana recently said they'll tokenize your shares. What's happening there?

"That was their initiative. They bought shares from existing holders and plan to tokenize them. 

We didn't sell them the stock, but we support it. If you own an asset, you should be free to do what you want with it, and tokenizing equity is a natural next step."

As you consider going public again, how do you pitch investors on running a crypto-linked advisory and investing business through market cycles?

"Volatility is constant, and we've learned how to monetize it. Even in a bear market, our revenue stayed consistent because we hedge and generate yield on our holdings. 

Whether prices go up or down, there's always activity — and that's where we make money."

Expert Voices: Animoca's Yat Siu on IPO timing, public comps and tokenization

CEO Yat Siu discusses how their strategy fits into the public markets.

Photo illustration of Yat Sui collaged with the Animoca Brands logo.

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy Animoca Brands

The future of Animoca Brands lies in becoming a public-market proxy for the broader web3 economy, co-founder and chairman Yat Siu tells Axios Pro.Why it matters: The Hong Kong-based web3 operator, investor and adviser now functions like an &quot;altcoin index,&quot; Siu says.

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Expert Voices: Animoca's Yat Siu on IPO timing, public comps and tokenization

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