Web3 game developer and venture capital firm Animoca Brands has refuted claims that it lowered its Metaverse fund target by $200 million, or 20% to $800 million amid volatility in the crypto market and the instability in the banking sector.
The firm also played down suggestions that its valuation has plummeted from $6 billion as of July 2022 to approximately $2 billion in March 2023.
As of a Reuters report on March 24 that aforementioned Anonymous โpeople familiar with the matter,โ it was claimed that Animoca initially halved its $2 billion Metaverse fund target in January, and then followed that up recently by cutting it. another 20% to $800 million.
The fund in question was announced in november, with the goal of allocating capital to mid- to late-stage startups with a Metaverse approach. At the time, Animoca co-founder and chairman Yat Siu border that the fund's goal was between $1 billion and $2 billion, depending on how much capital was raised.
In a public statement shared with Cointelegraph, Animoca stated that "the claim that Animoca Capital's fund target was 'cut' from $2bn to $1bn is not correct, because $1bn has always been within the stated range." ".
The firm acknowledged that the bank collapses in the US have, of course, had an impact, but stressed that the final amount raised for the fund has yet to be determined.
โThere is no doubt that the FTX and banking crises have had a serious impact on available venture capital, but the fundraising for the Animoca Capital fund is in progress. When the increase is concluded, we will inform the market with the appropriate details, including the final size of this fund, โsaid the firm.
Commenting on the leaked information, Siu told Cointelegraph that since the information came from unnamed sources, โit makes it difficult to determine exactly who or what the sources and agenda are, which is unfortunate.โ
"Angry Birds was not created by Activision." @vistadesdehkDirector of @animocabrandsexplain in our exclusive chat at @ParisBlockWeek that major gaming companies don't always drive innovation.
Is it time for a new generation of game developers to shine on Web3? #PBW2023 pic.twitter.com/UwcujLeGYY
โ Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 22, 2023
Regarding the company's valuation, Animoca claimed that the figures reported by Reuters and the โtwo otherโ unidentified people quoted were inaccurate.
Animoca (AB1) shares were initially listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in the early days of the company. However, AB1 was delisted in March 2020 due to ASX claims that Animoca had violated its listing rules by being involved in crypto-related activities, among other things.
Since then, its shares have been traded on unlisted-focused exchanges such as Sydney-based PrimaryMarkets.
Data from this platform was used to calculate a total market capitalization of AB1 of approximately $2 billion. However, Animoca argues that these numbers do not paint the full picture of the company's total valuation.
"The claim [...] that Animoca Brands 'now trades its shares on PrimaryMarkets' is not technically correct. We terminated our agreement with PrimaryMarkets in the second half of 2020, but PrimaryMarkets decided to continue trading Animoca Brands shares on its platform," the firm stated, adding that:
โWe do not believe that the low trading activity at PrimaryMarkets accurately reflects the value of the company. The trading volume is too low to provide the pricing accuracy you would find in a real primary market."
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