According to Fortune, Animoca Brands is planning a Nasdaq listing through a reverse merger with Singapore-based fintech company Currenc, with the deal expected to finalize in 2026. The Hong Kong blockchain developer and investor has poured money into over 600 blockchain companies and previously held stakes in failed metaverse platform Sandbox. Under the merger terms, Animoca’s shareholders will control 95% of the combined entity while Currenc’s current investors get the remaining 5%. This marks Animoca’s second shot at public markets after being delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020 over compliance concerns. The company is positioning this as creating “the world’s first publicly-listed, diversified digital assets conglomerate,” according to co-founder Yat Siu.
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The Reverse Merger Playbook
Here’s the thing about reverse mergers – they’ve become the backdoor to Wall Street for crypto companies that might struggle with traditional IPOs. We’ve seen this pattern before with Circle’s failed SPAC attempt in 2022 and more recently with Securitize’s announcement last week. Even the Trump-backed American Bitcoin company went this route in May. Basically, it’s faster and often less scrutinized than a conventional public offering. But that speed comes with risks, especially for investors who might not fully understand what they’re buying into.
And let’s be real – this isn’t Animoca’s first rodeo with public markets. They got booted from the Australian exchange four years ago over listing rule compliance issues. That history should raise some eyebrows. Why would investors trust them more this time around? The company’s betting that by 2026, the altcoin market will have recovered enough to make this gamble pay off.
The Altcoin Reality Check
Now for the uncomfortable part – Animoca’s entire business model revolves around altcoins, which have been absolutely hammered recently. The market is down a staggering $800 billion from where past cycles suggested it should be. We just saw a flash crash last month that wiped out billions in non-Bitcoin tokens. Retail investors in South Korea are already fleeing to crypto-linked equities instead of holding the tokens themselves.
But here’s the twist – some altcoins like Solana and Binance Coin have actually hit all-time highs under the Trump administration. So there’s this weird bifurcation happening where certain tokens are thriving while the broader altcoin market struggles. Animoca’s basically betting they can pick the winners in this chaotic environment. Given their track record includes investments in failed platforms like Sandbox, that’s quite the assumption.
The Ultimate Test of Investor Appetite
This listing will really test whether Wall Street has any stomach left for crypto companies that aren’t straightforward exchanges or stablecoin issuers. Circle and Gemini at least have relatively simple business models to understand. But Animoca? They’re this complex web of 600+ investments across the blockchain ecosystem. How do you even value that?
The merger announcement frames this as creating something entirely new – a “digital assets conglomerate.” That sounds impressive, but conglomerates often trade at discounts because they’re too complicated for investors to understand. Add crypto’s volatility on top of that, and you’ve got a recipe for either massive success or spectacular failure.
So will 2026 be the right time for this? Nobody knows. The crypto market moves in cycles that make traditional market timing look predictable. Animoca’s betting everything that by then, altcoins will be back in favor and investors will be hungry for exposure to the entire ecosystem rather than just Bitcoin. It’s a bold move – let’s see if it pays off.
