Web3 firm Animoca Brands trading for as little as a quarter of last valuation

Yat Siu, chairman of the blockchain video gaming firm, said secondary market trading does not accurately reflect the value of the Hong Kong-based company

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Animoca Brands is trading on secondary markets at a valuation that is at least half what it was valued at two years ago, founder Yat Siu said. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:00pm, 13 Aug 2024Updated: 5:53pm, 14 Aug 2024

Hong Kong-based blockchain video gaming firm Animoca Brands has seen the value of its shares in secondary market trading shrink to more than half of its last valuation, as volatility persists in the cryptocurrency sector after an industry meltdown two years ago.

Shares of Animoca Brands, an unlisted public company that delisted in Australia in 2020, are being traded on secondary markets at valuations that vary between US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion, co-founder and chairman Yat Siu told the Post.

The company, known for its investment into hundreds of blockchain start-ups and its own metaverse platform, The Sandbox, where people can buy virtual plots of land as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), was valued at US$5.9 billion during a fundraising round completed in July 2022. The company said it had the same per share valuation after fresh funding last year.

The latest figures, first reported by cryptocurrency-focused outlet DL News last week, mean that Animoca’s shares are changing hands at times for a quarter of what the company was worth two years ago.

But such trades do not reliably reflect the company’s valuation, as there is “seldom substantial liquidity” in over-the-counter secondary markets, Siu said.

“Currently the company is unlisted, meaning our shares are not traded on an exchange but only traded on secondary markets across multiple locations, agents, and brokers, with relatively little volume and reporting,” Siu said. “This makes it challenging to track reliable information about our valuation.”