Animoca Brands Co-Founder Forecasts Promising Investments and Partnerships in 2024
Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, is optimistic about the potential for a number of investments and partnerships to yield positive results in 2024. Siu, who spoke exclusively to Cointelegraph at the Next Block Expo event in Berlin, believes that mainstream institutional interest in Bitcoin (BTC) is gaining momentum, which will benefit the gaming venture capital firm.
Animoca Brands made approximately 70 investments in 2023, and Siu expects these investments to deliver results next year. One of the most notable partnerships is with The Open Network (TON) blockchain. The investment involved the purchase of an undisclosed amount of Toncoin, which was then staked as part of the validator agreement. Siu sees this partnership as a tool for mass onboarding with TON wallet, given the 800 million Telegram users utilizing TON.
In addition to the TON partnership, Animoca Brands’ acquisition of the social casual gaming platform Gamee in July 2020 is expected to benefit from its growing presence as a gaming platform on Telegram. Siu explains that the acquisition was initially hindered by the inability to monetize games through Telegram, but with the recent integration of TON, Gamee has become commercially viable. Though Gamee is not yet fully integrated into Telegram, the appreciation of its native GMEE token indicates the excitement and potential of GameFi on Telegram.
Animoca Brands also has a vested interest in the performance of metaverse projects and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Siu notes that the NFT market is recovering, thanks to long-term holders who believe in the value and fundamentals of the respective projects. He highlights that the number of NFTs from high-profile collections available for purchase on the market is typically now in single digit percentages, a significant shift from the bull market in 2021.
Looking ahead to 2024, Siu sees several macro factors as reasons for optimism. The building anticipation around Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., the conclusion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, and Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with American authorities contribute to positive sentiment in the cryptocurrency industry. Siu believes that the potential approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024, along with the recent liquidation of $60 million of BTC short positions, will further strengthen the foundation for growth.
Siu concludes that the outlook for Animoca Brands and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole is bright, with the company well-positioned to benefit from its strategic investments and partnerships in 2024.
