SKN | Animoca’s Yat Siu Says Crypto’s Trump Moment Is Over

For much of 2025, crypto markets traded on the assumption that a second Donald Trump presidency would deliver sweeping regulatory relief and ignite a new bull cycle. Prices ran ahead of policy, altcoins priced in political permission, and expectations soared. As the year progressed, however, that narrative unraveled. The anticipated policy tailwinds failed to materialize, and markets were left to confront a more sobering reality.

According to Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, that moment marked an inflection point. Crypto’s next phase, he argues, will be shaped less by personalities in Washington and more by infrastructure, regulation, and genuine adoption.

“Trump is pro-crypto, and that’s a net positive,” Siu said in Hong Kong. “But we were never going to be his top priority. The industry had to learn that.”

From political trade to structural market

The unwinding of the so-called Trump trade exposed how much of crypto’s momentum had been driven by expectations rather than fundamentals. As those expectations faded, markets did not collapse, but they did recalibrate. For Siu, that recalibration is healthy. It signals a transition from speculative, headline-driven cycles to a more structurally grounded market.

Institutional capital, he said, is now the dominant force reshaping crypto behavior. Large investors are increasingly allocating with multi-year horizons, dampening reflexive volatility and reframing bitcoin’s role in portfolios. Rather than a high-beta risk asset, bitcoin is beginning to resemble a reserve asset, closer in function to gold than to a speculative technology bet.

Bitcoin as reserve, altcoins as economy

That shift has consequences for the rest of the crypto ecosystem. Siu argues that if bitcoin serves as the reserve layer, altcoins must justify themselves as part of the productive economy. Tokens without real users, revenue models, or clear utility will struggle as capital becomes more selective.

Animoca’s own strategy reflects this view. The company has positioned itself as a builder and allocator across gaming, digital property rights, and blockchain infrastructure, rather than a passive holder of speculative assets. Siu has previously described Animoca’s ambition to operate like an altcoin-native treasury, aligned with long-term ecosystem growth rather than short-term price cycles.

Crypto and AI converge

Siu also sees crypto’s future increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence. Rather than competing narratives, he believes the two technologies are converging. Autonomous AI systems, he argues, require neutral, permissionless rails to hold value, transact, and operate independently. Blockchain provides that foundation.

“For most users, the hedge toward AI is owning crypto,” Siu said. In his view, crypto becomes the native asset class for AI agents, enabling sovereignty and trust in ways traditional financial infrastructure cannot.

This convergence mirrors earlier technology cycles, where infrastructure faded into the background while powering entire industries. Crypto, Siu suggests, may soon be treated less as a novelty and more as an invisible layer underpinning digital activity.

Gaming culture meets finance

Another structural shift is cultural. Siu argues that crypto is absorbing the mechanics of gaming rather than importing finance into games. Leaderboards, rewards, and social ranking systems reflect how younger, digitally native users understand participation and value.

Platforms such as Hyperliquid, with public profit-and-loss rankings, exemplify what Siu calls “gamified finance,” a model that resonates with generations raised online. This is not superficial design, he said, but a redefinition of how financial engagement works.

Why Hong Kong matters

With Consensus returning to Hong Kong, Siu believes the city is uniquely positioned for crypto’s next phase. It combines global capital markets, evolving regulatory clarity, and proximity to advanced technology hubs like Shenzhen. As crypto moves beyond politics and into infrastructure, hubs that bridge finance and technology may play an outsized role.

For Siu, the message is clear. Crypto’s future will not be delivered by any single leader or election. It will be built, layer by layer, by institutions, developers, and users who treat the technology not as a political trade, but as permanent financial infrastructure.