Animoca Brands Charges Toward NY IPO—Hong Kong’s Crypto Darling Rides Regulatory Wave
Yat Siu’s web3 juggernaut makes its Wall Street play as regulators finally stop playing whack-a-mole with blockchain.
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Hong Kong’s poster child for tokenized gaming licenses is swapping sandbox experiments for the big leagues. Animoca Brands—valued at $5.9B in its last raise—is reportedly prepping a New York listing after years of flirting with public markets.
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The move comes as the SEC softens its stance on crypto (or at least stops suing every project that moves). Timing the market? Textbook. Expect bankers to pitch this as ‘the Coinbase of metaverse equities’—whether the numbers justify it or not.
Animoca Gains Competitive Edge Abroad as US Rules Thaw
The company raised funds through multiple rounds in 2022, reaching a private valuation just under $6b. Since then, both equity prices and digital asset values have rebounded significantly.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s pledge to make the country a hub for digital assets has attracted firms like Deribit and driven Bitcoin above $100k since November.
Trump’s MOVE away from his predecessor’s enforcement actions has thawed a climate that under Joe Biden saw dozens of lawsuits against crypto firms.
Siu said the earlier clampdown had cooled US innovation and given overseas companies such as Animoca an edge. A year ago, Animoca would not have considered a US listing, but now it is “a very important part of the roadmap”.
Crypto Peers Plot US Listings in 2025
Animoca first floated the idea of returning to public markets last year after its 2020 delisting from the Australian exchange following governance and cryptoasset status concerns. Since then, it has expanded advisory services and grown its investment arm to include stakes in more than 500 companies.
In the year ending December, Animoca reportedly generated $314m in revenue and $97min EBITDA, its Core operating profit. It also holds nearly $300m in cash and stablecoins plus over $500m in digital assets.
Several crypto firms are eyeing US listings in 2025 as markets recover and regulators ease rules. Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, Kraken, Ripple, Gemini and Peter Thiel-backed Bullish have all been linked to potential IPO plans.
Going public would give them fresh capital, bolster transparency and credibility and attract investors who might otherwise avoid holding digital assets directly.
