Animoca Brands eyes IPO in Hong Kong or Dubai for 2025

• Though the IPO is still in early planning stages and no adviser has yet been hired
• The move aims to bring “more attention to web3"

Web3 giant Animoca Brands is considering going public, possibly in Hong Kong or the Middle East, as early as late next year.

According to South China Morning Post, Animoca Brands' co-founder Yat Siu is considering listing the company in Hong Kong or a Middle Eastern market, with Dubai being a hotspot for crypto businesses.

Siu stated that the company is confident about going public, likely in the second half of 2025, though the IPO is still in early planning stages and no adviser has yet been hired. 

Minor setback, major comeback 

The aim of returning to the public market, after delisting in Australia in March 2020 due to cryptocurrency scrutiny, is to bring “more attention to web3," said Siu. 

“If you consider what companies like Coinbase have done for US attention in Web3, it’s a good example of a successful case to bring more focus to web3. We hope to achieve something similar in due course.”

A move too late?

However, it's worth noting that Animoca's last public valuation was over a year ago. Considering the cool-down in the cryptocurrency and NFT markets (although crypto has had a marked recovery) an IPO might have been more successful at the height of their powers. 

Animoca were once riding high having being founded in 2014 they became a key player in the web3 space, actively investing in blockchain startups (with over 400 in their portfolio) and are known for their metaverse platform, The Sandbox.

However, after gaining significant investment interest in web3 an metaverse projects has, at best, been static. Their most recent valuation placed them at $5.9 billion after a funding round in July 2022. Current investors include heavy hitters like Temasek Holdings and the Saudi Arabian government whose ambitious Neom project placed $50 million with the company.

Animoca's IPO may therefore have been caught between two stools - too early to IPO while on the web3/crypto/NFT/metaverse upswing, yet past the peak of hype and growth potential now that they have proved their credibility and earned respect.