Animoca Brands stalls Nasdaq ambitions, pauses merger with Currenc
Animoca Brands pauses its planned reverse merger with Currenc, delaying a Nasdaq listing and reshaping its public‑market strategy.
Animoca Brands announced on Tuesday that it is putting the proposed reverse merger with Currenc Group on hold. The move pushes back the company’s most concrete path to a Nasdaq listing and leaves its public‑market roadmap open again. For investors who expected a quick debut on a major exchange, the delay highlights the timing challenges that still confront crypto‑focused firms.
What happened
According to CoinDesk: Animoca Brands suspended discussions for a reverse merger with Currenc Group Inc., a deal that would have given Currenc a Nasdaq ticker. The two companies said the timeline needed to close the transaction no longer matched their individual goals. Talks between the firms began late last year, and the plan called for Animoca to own roughly 95% of the combined entity. Despite the pause, Animoca’s co‑founder Yat Siu reiterated a commitment to a public listing and promised to keep looking for the "optimal route". Currenc’s share price closed at $3.23 on the Monday before the announcement, up 1.25% on the day, then slipped 0.93% in after‑hours trading.
Why it works that way
A reverse merger is a shortcut that lets a private company become public by merging into an already listed shell. The listed company, in this case Currenc, already holds a Nasdaq ticker, so the private firm—Animoca—can skip the lengthy IPO filing and underwriting process. In exchange, the private party typically receives a large equity stake in the merged company; here Animoca would have controlled about 95% of the new entity. That ownership share gives Animoca effective control while still meeting Nasdaq’s requirement that a listed company have a public float, the portion of shares held by outside investors. The float is essential for market liquidity and for the exchange’s ongoing compliance checks.
The timing of a reverse merger matters because both parties must line up regulatory filings, shareholder approvals, and financial disclosures. If the private company’s financials aren’t ready for public scrutiny, or if market conditions shift, the merger can stall. For a crypto‑focused firm, additional complications arise from evolving securities regulations, especially around token holdings and DeFi (decentralized finance) assets that form a big part of Animoca’s portfolio. Nasdaq has tightened its review of companies with significant exposure to digital assets, demanding clearer accounting and governance structures. Those requirements can stretch the due‑diligence timeline, making a pre‑set closing date difficult to meet.
What changes because of it
The immediate effect is that Animoca’s shareholders will not see the liquidity boost that a Nasdaq listing normally provides. Public markets can price a company’s growth prospects more efficiently than private rounds, and a listing often brings a broader pool of institutional investors. Without the merger, Animoca must continue to fund expansion—its advisory services, AI projects, and NFT gaming titles—through private capital or alternative public‑market routes such as a special‑purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or a direct listing. Each alternative carries its own cost structure and timing risk.
Currenc, meanwhile, remains a publicly traded entity but now without the anticipated influx of Animoca’s assets and cash. Its stock price reaction—small uptick followed by a modest after‑hours drop—suggests market participants are weighing the news as a disappointment but not a crisis. The company will need to find another partner or strategy to achieve the scale it hoped to gain from the merger.
For the broader crypto ecosystem, the pause underscores that even well‑capitalized players can hit regulatory and timing snags when trying to cross over into traditional equity markets. Companies that rely heavily on decentralized finance or token‑based revenue streams still face uncertainty about how regulators will treat those assets on a public exchange. The episode may encourage other crypto firms to shore up compliance frameworks before attempting a reverse merger, or to explore jurisdictions with clearer guidance on digital‑asset reporting.
What to watch next is whether Animoca announces a new filing method—perhaps a direct IPO after tightening its reporting controls—or whether Currenc finds a different partner. Both companies have publicly stated a continued desire for a public listing, so the underlying ambition remains. Investors should keep an eye on any regulatory updates from the SEC (U.S. securities regulator) that could affect how digital‑asset holdings are disclosed, as those rules will directly shape the feasibility of future merger talks.
