Animoca Brands, a leading venture capital firm in the crypto and Web3 space, is preparing to significantly broaden its focus in the coming year, concentrating on stablecoin issuance and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, according to Chief Strategy Officer Keyvan Peymani.
“We’re going to launch into the stablecoin initiative in a major way. We’re launching this RWA marketplace,” Peymani stated in a recent interview with CNBC, describing the move as a “whole new sector” for the company.
The strategic pivot comes amid several high-profile deals designed to bridge traditional finance with the Web3 ecosystem. In August, Animoca officially announced a joint venture in Hong Kong named Anchorpoint Financial with Standard Chartered and Hong Kong Telecommunications. The JV plans to apply for a stablecoin issuer license with local authorities. The firm has forged partnerships to drive RWA tokenization, including a collaboration with global wealth manager Fosun Wealth and blockchain finance firm FinChain to distribute Fosun’s RWA products to global investors.
Earlier this month, Animoca partnered with Nasdaq-listed asset manager Hang Feng Technology Innovation Co. to develop an RWA tokenization ecosystem. Animoca Brands Group President Evan Auyang noted at the time that this will “make institutional-grade assets much more liquid and accessible as a necessary step toward a more inclusive on-chain financial system.”
Nasdaq IPO Plan Underway
The shift in strategic focus aligns with the company’s plan to go public on the Nasdaq next year. The listing is expected to be achieved through a reverse merger with Currenc Group Inc., a Singapore-based fintech company focused on artificial intelligence.
Should the merger complete, Animoca would assume the Nasdaq listing, with its current shareholders owning the vast majority of the combined entity. This move would grant Animoca’s extensive portfolio of digital assets direct access to U.S. investors, joining a growing list of crypto firms like Coinbase and Circle that have gone public in the U.S.
Peymani framed the move as an opportunity for investors to gain diversified exposure to the sector: “We think we’re one of those opportunities for someone to gain broad access to what is a really exciting growing market… What we aim to do is whenever there’s something interesting and exciting happening… we’re gonna become one of the market leaders.”
While embracing new sectors, Peymani confirmed that Animoca will also continue to expand its roots in gaming and in-house projects, including The Sandbox, Moca ID, and Anichess, reaffirming its “very bullish” outlook on the future of Web3 gaming.
