Crypto Survived the Flash Crash, So Will Web3: Animoca Brand’s Robby Yung

Key Takeaways

• Animoca Brands is targeting a U.S. stock exchange listing in 2025.
• Web3 gaming represents around 25% of Animoca’s investment portfolio.
• CEO Robby Yung says crypto survived the recent flash crash thanks to its mature market structure and sophisticated risk management systems.

The crypto markets were rocked to their core following the Oct. 10 flash crash, and yet disaster hasn’t struck the entire ecosystem as it has in the past.

Speaking with CCN at the European Blockchain Conference 2025, Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung explained why things are different this time around, how its Web3 investment portfolio has changed, and why it’s going ahead with an IPO launch this year.

Animoca IPO

Animoca Brands is one of the biggest investment firms in Web3 today, with dozens of firms such as Axie Infinity, Polygon, Kraken, The Sandbox, and many others in its portfolio.

It wasn’t always this way. The Hong Kong-based studio was once focused on the mobile gaming market with a substantial portfolio to boot.

At this time, it went public on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Five years later, in 2020, it was delisted from the ASX because of its pivot to Web3, crypto, and blockchain.

“We’ve been private since then,” says Yung, but not to the firm’s detriment. It’s public exposure pulled in shareholders, and they retained a share of the retail and institutional investors thanks to that legacy.

Now, it’s planning a U.S. IPO comeback.

“So we always said, since the time we delisted, that it would be our goal to relist the business when we felt the timing was right. So this subject has basically come back into the forefront since the end of last year.“

What spurred Animoca into action? Firstly, the U.S. softening its regulatory stance, “which isn’t just about the U.S.,” Yung adds, “but also about the fact that U.S. regulatory precedent often has a knock-on effect in other jurisdictions.”

Secondly, the embrace of the financial markets.

“Now there seems to be a great interest in what’s going on generally in the digital asset space. So for us, that’s exciting, because we feel like we represent a real opportunity in being, arguably, the leader in kind of the altcoin space.”

Portfolio Tweaks

Indeed, the markets are piping hot in 2025, largely propelled by the U.S.’s pro-crypto approach, a fresh wave of institutional adoption, and ongoing advances in the industry.

Rampant speculation resulted in the largest crypto wipeout in history. Some $19 billion was lost overnight.

One particular segment of crypto, namely Web3 gaming, has also seen an incredible rise throughout 2025. It was also Animoca’s bread and butter.

Earlier this year, Animoca’s David Ching told CCN that Web3 gaming was “a strategic fit” for its portfolio, but in light of the recent market action, how does he feel about it today?

“Web3 gaming is always something that’s really near and dear to our hearts, because that’s our heritage. We were a game company solely before we discovered blockchain,” Yung told CCN.

However, he admits that now, it’s less a part of the business. “It used to be everything. Now it’s 25% of our business, probably.”

He explains that Web3 gaming had a tough run following the 2021/2022 hype cycle, as following this, “they ran straight into the headwind of a bear market, like to beat all bears.”

“Since 2022, after FTX and the market took a downturn, we went through a process of rationalization, like any organization, because it’s just good fiduciary duty to make sure you’re not overspending beyond your means,” Yung expressed.

This made it difficult for Web3 gaming studios to gain traction. It was a pretty devastating shakeout for the sector as a whole.

Furthermore, they’re trying to…