Web3 & the WEF. Interview with Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Animoca Brands.

We sat down with Yat Siu (蕭逸), Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Animoca Brands, a leading Web3 company that has a strong track record of championing the Web3 revolution and industry, thanks to its funding strategy and thought leadership, both deployed at a global level.

Mr. Siu is a regular guest at the World Economic Forum (WEF), as he is recognized as one of the most authoritative and visible advocates for decentralization, tokenization, digital property rights, and everything else generally associated with Web3. Here is our quick exchange at the Hard Rock Café Davos cafeteria on a snowy Thursday morning.

What are the key themes that you are discussing here at the WEF 2025?

A main theme at Davos, and one of my main talking points in general, is driving increases in institutional involvement in the blockchain and crypto industry. The past two years since FTX and other scandals have been challenging for the crypto sphere, with Bitcoin standing out as the clear winner. We want the kind of success Bitcoin has enjoyed to be extended across the entire Web3 ecosystem.

At WEF 2025, I am advocating for widespread blockchain adoption and for the establishment of the right framework that will allow Web3 to succeed. It’s crucial for people to understand the foundational principles of Web3, such as trust arising from transparency and the power of network effects to benefit all participants. Right now, these principles are well understood within the Web3 industry but not so much outside of it, so one of my goals is always to increase the public’s awareness of the benefits of the open metaverse, which is the next iteration of the Internet built on a decentralized framework that is more open, equitable, transparent, secure, and rewarding.

While convincing people of this vision can be hard work, the WEF presents a great opportunity to engage with business leaders, politicians, and institutions. Davos provides a forum to facilitate meaningful discussions and foster greater understanding and collaboration for the advancement of Web3.

AI is the talk of the town. What are the use cases where you see blockchain and AI as the perfect fit to elevate fans’ experiences? 

Crypto tokens are becoming the currency of AI. Agentic AI is probably the next evolution of AI, and crypto and its programmable payment rails provide a new way to reward both AI agents and their users, efficiently and transparently. Agentic AI creates value, which can be redistributed back to its user network. When a service provides utility and fair compensation, it is ideally suited to adoption and engagement. Therefore, empowering stakeholders and fans by sharing value across the network is key to sustained success. It’s not just about having an advanced tech stack but also about being able to offer strong community value. Take TikTok as an example; the platform’s success owes a great deal to its ability to empower fans and offer creators better opportunities and rewards than first-generation social media platforms. The financial incentives provided by such platforms make them uniquely appealing, illustrating the power of a value-centric approach.

We can also consider copyright and trademark protection in AI applications, which can benefit from blockchain’s inherent ability to ensure digital property rights are protected and that authenticity is maintained. DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) are another good use case for AI: AI applications can be community-driven and collectively owned by multiple stakeholders, thus democratizing and decentralizing control over the technology, providing a very strong match for the purposes of many DAOs.

After so many years of Bitcoin, or ten years of Ethereum, are you happy about where Web3 and blockchain are?

After crypto’s reputational and market setbacks that developed in 2023 and lasted well into 2024, I am optimistic about Web3’s resilience and future but not entirely satisfied with the progress made to date. Despite the advances made even throughout the crypto downturn, there are only around 200 million people who are truly on-chain today, even though 500 million people or more are already using cryptocurrencies in some form or the other. I think that Web3 should have somewhere in the region of 1-3 billion people actively engaged on-chain. At that point the benefits of Web3, such as network effects and universal digital property rights, will become incredibly powerful and (effectively) universal.

Success and financial gains can sometimes distract blockchain projects, shifting the focus and altering the fundamental principles of blockchain. For example, Bitcoin has become more of a store of value rather than a medium for transaction and exchange. To make meaningful progress, Web3 projects must remain mission focused and driven in alignment with their original purposes. We must continually remind ourselves of the fundamental reasons behind Web3 and strive towards those ideals. We need founders who are persistent and dedicated to long-term vision rather than short-term gain. This is a long game.

Quantum computing: there is not a lot of talk yet. Is this a tech stack that you are looking at? 

We are exploring some aspects of quantum computing, although the field is still in an early stage of development. For example, we are very interested in quantum-proofing for security purposes. At this stage, our interest is largely theoretical. It will take time for quantum computing to deliver real life applications. While it’s not our core focus now, we are closely monitoring its development and potential future impact on our technology stacks.

Digital Product Passport (DPP): do you believe this is the next big thing for enterprise adoption of blockchain technology?

Yes, digital product passports are gaining traction, and some of our portfolio companies are involved in this space. However, our primary focus is on digital identity and reputation – basically addressing the challenge of how to build better trust in Web3.

Crypto supports anonymity, and it is essential for users to have a way to establish reputation without necessarily revealing identity. Our flagship project Moca Network is tackling this by building a chain-agnostic digital identity and reputation infrastructure for the open Internet, offering one universal account for assets, identity, and reputation across multiple ecosystems.

Leveraging blockchain to enhance trust also aligns with compliance requirements such as the EU’s GDPR and can be particularly beneficial for SMEs, which are more risk-vulnerable and risk-averse. Zero-proof-knowledge (ZPK) for reputation proofing can boost reputation and trust, thereby driving adoption of blockchain.

What are your focus areas for 2025?

Our focus for 2025 includes several key areas. Firstly, we are committed to navigating and contributing to the evolving regulatory landscape. Recent indications about the US regulatory framework are encouraging.

We’re prioritizing digital identity to enhance trust within the Web3 ecosystem. This is essential for building a robust and trustworthy digital environment that can attract and support billions of people.

Decentralized education and sciences are another significant focus, particularly with regards to our project Open Campus, which now supports over a million students. We want to shift away from short-term strategies and emphasize sustainable, long-term growth.

2025 represents the dawn of the institutional era for crypto. Animoca Brands is well-prepared and resilient, having overcome all previous industry crises and downturns to emerge in a position of strength. My view is that there are sterling opportunities in the near future, and we now have the right leadership and organizational culture to take advantage of those opportunities. We remain very much focused on stakeholder capitalism, which is of course in alignment with the broader vision of the WEF.

Written by Francesco Pagano.
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