Animoca Brands' 2026 strategy focuses on stablecoins and RWAs, with the Nasdaq IPO countdown beginning.

Keyvan Peymani, Chief Strategy Officer of Web3 investment giant Animoca Brands, recently revealed that the company will focus on stablecoin and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization business in 2026. At the same time, the company plans to log in to Nasdaq through a reverse merger with Singapore fintech company Currenc Group, becoming another encryption enterprise to enter the mainstream Capital Market in the United States after Coinbase. This series of strategic layouts shows that the integration of TradFi and Web3 is accelerating, and the trend of institutional-level assets being put on the chain is becoming increasingly clear.

Stablecoin and RWA Dual-Engine Strategy

Animoca Brands' layout in the stablecoin sector has entered a substantive stage. In August of this year, the company established a joint venture, Anchorpoint Financial, in Hong Kong with Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Telecommunications, and plans to apply to local regulators for a stablecoin issuance license. This collaboration combines the compliance advantages of traditional banking with the technological capabilities of Web3 enterprises, laying the foundation for a regulated stablecoin infrastructure in the Asian market. As a pioneer in digital asset regulation, Hong Kong is becoming a key battleground in the global stablecoin competition.

In the RWA track, Animoca has achieved multiple strategic partnerships this year. The company has reached an agreement with global wealth management platform Fosun Wealth and blockchain financial company FinChain to jointly distribute Fosun's RWA products to global investors. Additionally, Animoca is also collaborating with Nasdaq-listed asset management company Hangfeng Technology to co-develop the RWA tokenization ecosystem. These partnerships demonstrate that Animoca is actively building a bridge between traditional finance and Web3, promoting the on-chain process of trillion-dollar real-world assets.

From a strategic positioning perspective, Animoca's stablecoin and RWA business have a high degree of synergy. The stablecoin, as a medium of value exchange, can provide liquidity support for RWA transactions; while RWA assets provide real-world value backing for stablecoins. If this dual-driven model is successfully implemented, it will position Animoca favorably in the upcoming wave of asset tokenization. According to a prediction by the Boston Consulting Group, by 2030, the scale of tokenized assets could reach $16 trillion.

Animoca Brands key business progress

Stablecoin layout: Hong Kong joint venture Anchorpoint Financial

Partners: Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Telecommunications

RWA Partners: Fosun Wealth, FinChain, Hangfeng Technology Innovation

Internal core projects: The Sandbox, Moca ID, Anichess, EDU Chain

Listing Plan: Reverse Merger with NASDAQ in 2025

Merged entity: Currenc Group (Singapore Fintech - AI Company)

Nasdaq Listing Path and Capital Strategy

Animoca Brands has chosen to log in to NASDAQ through a Reverse merger, a decision that holds significant symbolic meaning in the encryption industry. Compared to traditional initial public offerings, Reverse mergers can shorten the listing time and reduce regulatory complexity, making it particularly suitable for Web3 companies with complex business structures. If the transaction is successfully completed, Animoca will hold the vast majority of equity in Currenc Group and inherit its listing status on NASDAQ, opening the door for the company to access mainstream capital in the United States.

From a capital perspective, the listing plan is highly aligned with Animoca's business expansion needs. The company has over 400 Web3 investment portfolios, covering multiple areas including gaming, the metaverse, and DeFi. Through listing financing, Animoca can provide more stable funding support for these projects, while also offering exit channels for early investors. More importantly, the identity of a listed company helps enhance the confidence of institutional investors and attract traditional capital to allocate to the digital asset space.

Peymani's strategic thinking revealed in the interview is worth pondering: “We aim to provide investors with broad opportunities to engage with this exciting and rapidly growing market, while avoiding the excessive risk associated with a single Token.” This statement reveals that Animoca's positioning is not only as a project incubator but also hopes to become an exponential investment tool for the entire Web3 industry. If this business model is recognized by the Capital Market, it could lead to the emergence of more Web3 holding companies with similar structures.

Looking back at the listing process of encryption companies, from Coinbase's direct listing to Circle's SPAC merger, and then to Animoca's Reverse merger, reflects the industry's different paths in seeking integration with the traditional Capital Market. In the context of the tightening regulatory environment in the United States, Animoca's choice to merge with a Singapore entity demonstrates its strategic flexibility in dealing with the complexities of cross-border regulation.

The Synergistic Evolution of Gaming Genes and the Web3 Ecosystem

Despite the focus shifting to financial infrastructure, Animoca has not abandoned its roots in the gaming industry. The company originated from mobile game development, with early investments concentrated in the Web3 gaming sector, and this gene continues to influence its strategic direction. Peymani clearly stated, “We remain very optimistic about the development prospects in the gaming field, believing that players can truly benefit from the time, energy, and money they invest in games, possessing real assets beyond the games themselves in the Web3 space.”

The flagship project The Sandbox continues to expand its metaverse territory, recently reaching collaborations with several well-known IPs to further enrich virtual world content. Moca ID, as a decentralized identity system, is gradually building a universal identity layer across games and applications. Anichess, as a blockchain chess game, explores new paths to combine traditional culture with token economy. EDU Chain focuses on blockchain applications in the education sector, and these projects together form Animoca's diversified ecological matrix.

From an industry trend perspective, gaming is becoming a key entry point for mass adoption of Web3. According to DappRadar data, daily active wallet addresses in blockchain gaming account for over 30% of all dApp activity. Animoca's strategy of sticking to the gaming track is less about nostalgia and more about a clear understanding of market realities. Games not only provide users with a low-threshold Web3 experience but also create continuous application scenarios and liquidity demands for digital assets.

At the technical architecture level, there are obvious synergies between Animoca's various projects. In-game assets can be tokenized as a form of RWA, while stablecoins provide payment solutions for the in-game economic system. The identity of a publicly listed company brings brand endorsement and financial support to the entire ecosystem. This multi-layered, mutually reinforcing business structure is the core competitive advantage that distinguishes Animoca from single-project companies.

Industry Competitive Landscape and Market Opportunities

The strategic transformation of Animoca Brands has occurred in a specific market context. Since 2024, RWA has become one of the fastest-growing tracks in the crypto industry. According to Messari data, the total locked value of RWA-related protocols has exceeded $8 billion. At the same time, the global stablecoin market size has surpassed $180 billion, becoming an important connection point between DeFi and TradFi. In light of this trend, many crypto-native enterprises and traditional financial institutions are actively laying out related businesses.

Compared to traditional financial institutions, Animoca's advantage lies in its deep knowledge of the Web3 industry and its extensive project portfolio. The company not only understands the characteristics of blockchain technology but is also familiar with token economics design and community governance models. These capabilities are crucial when building the next generation of financial infrastructure, as merely transplanting traditional financial products onto the blockchain makes it difficult to fully leverage the potential of the technology. Animoca's challenge is how to balance innovation and compliance, especially in a multi-jurisdictional operational environment.

From a competitive perspective, Animoca faces competition in the RWA sector from specialized platforms such as Ondo Finance and Tokeny, while in the stablecoin space, it must compete with established products like PayPal USD and Circle's USDC for market share. However, Animoca's unique positioning lies in its ecosystem approach—creating real use cases for stablecoins and RWAs by integrating gaming and metaverse applications, rather than merely existing as financial tools.

The Asian market may be a key breakthrough for Animoca. Hong Kong and Singapore have relatively open regulatory attitudes towards digital assets, and Animoca has already established a solid presence in these regions. Collaborating with local giants like Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Telecom provides the company with hard-to-replicate local resources and compliance capabilities. If it can successfully create stablecoins and RWA products that meet the needs of the Asian market, Animoca is expected to establish a first-mover advantage in regional market competition.

The strategic transformation of Animoca Brands reflects the trajectory of the Web3 industry moving from peripheral innovation to mainstream integration. The layout of stablecoins and RWA is not only an expansion of business but also an early positioning in the grand narrative of asset tokenization. With the advancement of the Nasdaq listing plan, Animoca is expected to become an important bridge connecting traditional capital and the encryption ecosystem, and its success or failure will test the recognition of the Web3 business model in the traditional financial market. Driven by both technological innovation and financial compliance, the year 2026 may become a watershed for Animoca and the entire industry's development.