Animoca Brands Eyes Altcoin Market, Plans Nasdaq Listing via Reverse Merger

Animoca Brands: A Gateway to the Altcoin Universe

In a strategic move to broaden investor access to the cryptocurrency market, Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu is positioning his company as a vehicle for exposure to a wide range of crypto projects and the burgeoning altcoin market. The company plans to go public via a reverse merger next year, marking a significant milestone in its journey.

During an interview with Cointelegraph, Siu stated, "We believe that altcoins, ultimately, over the largest space, are going to outperform Bitcoin as a collective." This statement reflects Siu's confidence in the growth potential of diverse altcoins.

Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: Siu's Perspective

Siu compares Bitcoin to gold, noting that while no single company is bigger than gold's market capitalization, all public companies combined are "roughly five to six times gold." He pointed out that while these companies may not have the same longevity as gold, they can "go up and down as a whole."

"We don’t join crypto because we want to hold Bitcoin, only holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset, but I don’t use it, right?" Siu clarified, emphasizing the utility of altcoins across the industry, from Web3 games to gas fees to DeFi and DePIN.

Animoca's Ambition: The Crypto Equivalent of Early Internet Giants

Animoca aims to offer crypto equivalents to early-stage companies like Amazon and Google. According to Siu, "All of these applications are actually altcoins, right in the classical definition, even, you know, to a lesser extent, but perhaps even more meaningfully, before, memecoins are also altcoins."

Siu likened Animoca's investment approach to the opportunity investors would have had in the early 2000s – the chance to invest across a broad range of the "biggest and most interesting" internet companies, such as Amazon, Google, eBay, and Alibaba. "We feel that we’re pretty well positioned for that," he added.

Siu believes the crypto industry likely won't have a single "winner-takes-all" altcoin or project, unlike the early era of the internet. Nevertheless, Animoca Brands aims to capture some of the crypto winners through its diversified investment portfolio.

Strategic Investment in Growth Sectors

The majority of Animoca Brands' investment portfolio is in gaming-related projects, with 230 of the 628 companies invested in that sector. There is also a growing amount invested in Infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Siu emphasized that Animoca can invest and gain access to altcoins at much lower levels than outside investors and that they are "passing on that benefit" to shareholders.

This announcement comes just weeks after Cointelegraph reported that Animoca Brands is planning a Nasdaq listing next year via a reverse merger with Currenc Group, a fintech company focused on AI.