Animoca Brands and Nasdaq-listed Currenc Group have suspended their proposed reverse merger after both companies concluded that the expected closing timeline no longer fit their short- and medium-term strategic plans.
The decision was mutual and puts on hold a transaction that would have returned the Web3 and AI investor to public markets more than six years after its shares stopped trading on the Australian Securities Exchange. Under the structure first disclosed in November 2025 as a non-binding term sheet, Currenc would have acquired all of Animoca Brands through an Australian scheme of arrangement. Animoca shareholders would have collectively owned approximately 95% of the combined company, with existing Currenc shareholders retaining about 5%. In May, the companies extended their exclusivity period through June 30, and closing was then targeted for the third quarter of 2026. The arrangement also carried a December 31 long-stop date, with a possible six-month extension by mutual agreement.
Animoca co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu said the company remains committed to returning to a major public exchange. He added that corporate agility must take precedence and that the firm is advancing the comprehensive audit processes required to meet listing compliance standards. Animoca published its audited fiscal 2023 financial statements on July 17, 2026, and is preparing audited fiscal 2024 accounts. Its reporting backlog dates back to its 2020 delisting from the ASX, and in 2022 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission convicted and fined the company over failures to lodge annual and half-year reports from 2019 through 2021.
Currenc continues to develop its tokenization and AI business independently. In April, it became one of the first Nasdaq-listed companies to tokenize its own ordinary shares on Ethereum and Solana through Securitize. In September, its subsidiary Currenc Capital entered a consulting agreement with Nasdaq-listed Mint Incorporation to support tokenization of a portion of Mint’s Class A ordinary shares on Ethereum and Solana.
The suspension comes amid growing tokenized equity activity. By September 15, onchain real-world assets reached $34.18 billion, up 85.2% since the start of 2026, while the value of tokenized equities increased 390.4% over the same period. Animoca has also continued its crypto venture activity, with 19 startup investments in the first half of 2026, alongside moves in stablecoin payments, AI agents and real-world asset infrastructure.
