GMoca!

Welcome to the May edition of the Animoca Brands Monthly Digest, a quick read to catch up on what’s been happening across our ecosystem.

In May, we pushed Web3 closer to culture, creators, and communities. From digital sovereignty to real-world use cases, our work with 540+ companies shows this is more than tech—it’s a movement.

A quick look at what’s been getting attention across our channels:

• Yat Siu on why digital ownership—not physical form—defines lasting value (link)

• Partnered with Astar Network and Sony’s Soneium to bring Japanese IP onchain (link)

• Launched a UK accelerator with Coinbase, Fabric, and Founders Factory to back AI and blockchain startups (link)

• Anichess launches Season 4, introducing fresh mechanics, daily rewards, and a final leaderboard with $10K in $C (link)

• Ed Felten, co-founder of Offchain Labs (the team behind Arbitrum), joins the Open Metaverse Podcast to discuss scaling blockchain through Arbitrum (link)

Subscribe to the Animoca Brands Monthly Digest for updates across our ecosystem—540+ companies, events, research, and more:

TOKEN2049 Dubai brought our ecosystem together for an energizing week of ideas, connections, and creativity:

Portfolio Day 2025 Dubai welcomed portfolio companies from across our ecosystem to connect. It was an afternoon of fresh ideas, real conversations, and good vibes. Highlights included:

• Yat Siu joined Balaji Srinivasan from Network School for a deep dive into the power of digital networks (more below)

• Open Campus and Pencil Finance discussed their US$10M student loan RWA protocol

• Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) shared how regulation enables Web3 innovation in Dubai

• Abstract Chain showcased its roadmap to achieving mass crypto adoption

Watch our recap video to quickly catch the highlights:

Frens Network also hosted a special edition of our creator gatherings: Frens Creator Hub, an invite-only night for creators to connect beyond the feed.

/pi

From wellness sessions and merch drops to live music and social challenges, creators explored our ecosystem in a laid-back, joyful setting. The night wrapped with fireworks—sealing new friendships and future collabs.

Subscribe to our Luma calendar to stay updated and be part of our upcoming events.

What do you get when you bring together one of Web3’s most philosophical minds and one of its most principled builders?

At Portfolio Day 2025 Dubai, entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Network School Balaji Srinivasan and our executive chairman and co-founder Yat Siu discussed how power is shifting—from traditional states to digital networks.

Yat shared his perspective on how blockchain can create transparent systems that support freedom and equality. “The rules are known and onchain,” he said. “That’s where our freedoms can come from—systems where everyone understands the rules and they apply equally.”

Balaji shared his concept of the Network State: internet-native communities that grow from shared values and digital tools. He sees a shift where economic and governance models can be built online, drawing lessons from how Bitcoin and Ethereum gained adoption without relying on traditional enforcement.

The conversation also covered:

• Blockchain’s role in building opt-in legal and financial systems

• Why smaller nations may lead Web3 adoption

• How networked communities rival traditional states in influence

Yat tied it back to Animoca Brands’ mission: building systems of real digital ownership that people can trust—without needing traditional gatekeepers. 

What happens when the world’s oldest game meets the future of the internet?

Anichess (Farcaster, X) is a strategy game that reimagines classic chess for the Web3 era. Players still move familiar pieces, but with a twist—spell-casting, hidden information, and shifting rules make each match more unpredictable and strategic.

Season 4 is now live, and it’s the final chance to climb the leaderboards before everything resets. What makes it unmissable:

• All ratings reset—everyone starts from zero

• Play daily, earn $M8 tokens, and climb to the top 64

• $10,000 in $C token rewards are up for grabs

On The Coffee Break, Anichess core contributor Chevan Tin explains how the game is attracting new players through daily competition, digital rewards, and a partnership with Chess.com, the leading chess platform in the world.

Watch the episode of The Coffee Break to see how it’s redefining chess for Web3—and why even Magnus Carlsen, former world champion and the highest-rated player in history, is excited for what's coming up next.

Our latest research dives into how Abstract Chain makes crypto feel social, fun, and seamless.

Animoca Brands Research

@animocaresearch

Abstract Chain: The Gateway to Consumer Crypto

In this report, we address three key questions about @AbstractChain:

1/ How does the Abstract Chain approach achieve mass crypto adoption?

2/ How does Pudgy Penguins contribute to the initial growth of Abstract Chain?

3/ Why

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1:22 PM • May 28, 2025

Launched in January 2025, Abstract Chain is a consumer-first blockchain designed to remove friction and turn Web3 into a familiar, fun experience:

• Pudgy Power: By activating the Pudgy Penguins community (over 3 million followers and 500,000 $PENGU holders), Abstract drove early adoption across key global markets

• Stream-to-Earn: With 10,000+ streamers and 500,000 hours watched, Abstract’s Portal sees 7-minute average daily engagement and 40% 30-day retention

• Effortless UX: Account abstraction lets users sign up without wallets or private keys. It’s crypto—but feels like any other app

Abstract has created nearly 4 million wallets, logs around 100,000 daily active users, processes over 700,000 daily transactions, and already hosts 120+ live apps. 

See how Abstract is building one of Web3’s fastest-growing consumer chains. Read the full report.

The TOWER Ecosystem is redefining how Web3-native content and communities grow. Engagement drives visibility—but what happens when engagement itself goes onchain?

After expanding across Ethereum, Polygon, TON, Solana, and Base, the TOWER Ecosystem is now exploring Farcaster—a decentralized social protocol that blends on-chain engagement with app discovery.

Incubated by Animoca Brands and powered by the $TOWER token, the TOWER Ecosystem is developing a new playbook through Mini Apps like Pet Me and Versus, focusing on impactful, high-frequency interactions where on-chain actions matter as much as impressions.

Here are some highlights:

• Pet Me logged over 1,890 transactions and ranked Top 50 on Farcaster’s Mini App leaderboard

• Versus reached 1.5K sign-ups and 3K DAU within just 3 days of launch

Follow them on Farcaster and X to stay updated on what they’re building next.

Thanks for reading! Got feedback or ideas? We’d love to hear from you.

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See you in the next issue!