Quick Takes
- Animoca Brands reports $450M in 2021 bookings and $382M in operating cash flow following release of long-delayed audited results.
- Executive Chairman Yat Siu confirms a U.S. IPO is under consideration as regulatory conditions improve.
- The company now holds over $4.3B in assets and equity across 540+ companies, positioning itself as a digital asset powerhouse.
After years of delays and rising questions from investors, Animoca Brands has released its long-awaited audited financial report for FY2021. The report confirms a landmark year for the company, with $450 million in bookings and $382 million in net operating cash flow, figures that not only marked Animoca’s transition from mobile gaming to a broader digital asset strategy, but also laid the groundwork for its return to the public markets.
The company, which was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2020, is now considering a re-entry but this time in the United States. Executive chairman Yat Siu confirmed the possibility in comments to CCN, stating that the evolving U.S. regulatory climate has made expansion there more viable. “We have firm plans to expand our activities in the U.S. market,” said Siu, clarifying that while a U.S. IPO hasn’t been finalized, it’s “certainly a possibility.”
The audited statements, completed with the help of accounting firm Hall Chadwick, address what Siu called “complex accounting issues” tied to the company’s early and significant use of digital assets. Those issues delayed the audit for years, but now position Animoca as one of the few major companies in the digital asset space to fully reconcile traditional accounting standards with token-based revenue structures.
Among the headline figures: net assets grew from negative $385,000 in 2020 to $337 million by the end of 2021. Despite a reported net loss of A$671 million that year—attributable to non-cash accounting charges related to derivatives and convertible notes, the company generated record cash flow and has since maintained top-line bookings “consistently in the hundreds of millions,” according to its announcement.
Siu used the release of the audit to underscore Animoca’s long-term strategy: aggregating digital assets and building infrastructure around tokenized ecosystems. As of FY2024, Animoca held over $4.3 billion in total assets, including cash, major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and equity in more than 540 portfolio companies. Many of these names are familiar to the gaming world such as The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Splinterlands. But Animoca’s reach now extends into AI platforms, digital identity, and regulated stablecoin initiatives.
One of those efforts includes a pilot project with Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong Telecom to launch a Hong Kong-regulated stablecoin. In parallel, the company is working on proofs of concept with sovereign wealth funds, positioning itself as a gateway for institutional capital into digital assets.
The release of the FY2021 audit is also a strategic move. Animoca has repeatedly signaled interest in a re-listing, and the new audit helps close the gap between its capital strategy and public market compliance. As CCN reported, Animoca has explored listing options in the U.S., Hong Kong, and the Middle East. The company now finds itself in a much more favorable position than in previous years, aided by a broader market rebound and the return of institutional interest in digital assets.
Back in 2021, Animoca was riding the early wave of blockchain gaming. Today, it’s positioning itself as a full-spectrum digital asset operator. That includes launching and publishing games, investing in infrastructure, issuing tokens, and maintaining a large reserve of off-balance sheet assets.
Still, Siu acknowledged the challenges ahead: reconciling digital business models with traditional accounting frameworks remains a work in progress, and the FY2021 figures, though strong, reflect the early stage of an evolving industry.
“It’s a unique moment in time,” said Siu in comments to the Financial Times. “I feel like it would be one heck of a wasted opportunity if we didn’t at least try.”
Read the official statement and report at Animoca Brands.
