Key Takeaways
- • Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, told CoinShares that altcoins will collectively become larger than bitcoin, likening bitcoin to gold and altcoins to the stock market.
- • Siu said altcoins are currently collectively smaller than bitcoin, and that other tokens make up 35-40% of the crypto market, a share he expects to become the majority.
- • Animoca focuses on utility tokens and spreads equal exposure across hundreds of portfolio companies, including OpenSea, Polygon, Kraken, and Ledger, rather than picking individual winners.
- • Siu argued that ETFs and tokenized funds can extend institutional-style access to tokens, with tokenization cutting minimum purchases from $500 to $20 or less by lowering per-transaction costs.
Summary
Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder of Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, made the case that altcoins will collectively grow larger than bitcoin in an interview with Jeremy Le Bescont, lead content manager at CoinShares. Siu described bitcoin as the crypto equivalent of gold, a store of value, and altcoins as the equivalent of the stock market, giving holders a stake in networks that provide services.
Siu noted that the stock market is roughly five times the size of gold, and that in crypto the order currently runs the other way, with altcoins collectively smaller than bitcoin. He expects that to reverse. Investors seeking crypto exposure will need bitcoin, ethereum, and Solana, along with all other tokens, which he put at 35-40% of the market. Altcoins include utility tokens, which provide a service on a network, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets such as funds and bonds, and meme coins. Animoca focuses on utility tokens.
Siu compared selecting altcoin winners to choosing search companies in the early internet, when Yahoo ranked first and Google was absent. He argued that holding equal amounts across all projects would have performed well, as Google's returns alone would have been exceptional. Animoca applies this approach across hundreds of portfolio companies. He said individual investors cannot readily replicate this, since crypto venture firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm set high minimum checks.
Siu said ETFs brought traditional finance closer to crypto and that institutions were the main bitcoin buyers through those products, and that tokens could reach investors the same way. He also linked tokenization to lower costs. Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources, whose subsidiary is Franklin Templeton, said at a Davos panel that traditional funds carry a $500 minimum because each transaction costs several dollars, while tokenized versions can sell for $20 or less.
Siu noted that the stock market is roughly five times the size of gold, and that in crypto the order currently runs the other way, with altcoins collectively smaller than bitcoin. He expects that to reverse. Investors seeking crypto exposure will need bitcoin, ethereum, and Solana, along with all other tokens, which he put at 35-40% of the market. Altcoins include utility tokens, which provide a service on a network, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets such as funds and bonds, and meme coins. Animoca focuses on utility tokens.
Siu compared selecting altcoin winners to choosing search companies in the early internet, when Yahoo ranked first and Google was absent. He argued that holding equal amounts across all projects would have performed well, as Google's returns alone would have been exceptional. Animoca applies this approach across hundreds of portfolio companies. He said individual investors cannot readily replicate this, since crypto venture firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm set high minimum checks.
Siu said ETFs brought traditional finance closer to crypto and that institutions were the main bitcoin buyers through those products, and that tokens could reach investors the same way. He also linked tokenization to lower costs. Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources, whose subsidiary is Franklin Templeton, said at a Davos panel that traditional funds carry a $500 minimum because each transaction costs several dollars, while tokenized versions can sell for $20 or less.
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