Why Web3 Will Change the World! | Yat Siu

Summary

Yat Siu argues that Web3’s central promise is digital ownership: blockchain and tokenization could let users own and benefit from the value they help create in online networks, rather than leaving that value primarily with centralized platforms. He compares this potential shift to the way intellectual-property rights allowed creators to protect and earn from their work.

Web3, networks, and tokenization

• Siu describes social connections and network effects as major sources of value. In Web2, platforms capture much of that value, while users contribute data, attention, and relationships without directly owning a stake in the network.
• Tokens could represent a share in, or connection to, a network or community. Their value, in his view, depends not only on scarcity but also on the number and engagement of participants.
• Tokenization could apply to digital and physical assets. Siu uses stablecoins as an example: tokenizing dollars can make them easier to distribute and use across digital networks.
• He sees blockchain as a way to make ownership and provenance easier to verify. An NFT, for example, could provide an inexpensive record of when creative material originated, though it does not by itself settle every legal question.

Creators, fans, and business use cases

• Siu says Web3 could give creators more direct ways to recognize and engage their most committed fans. Tokens or NFTs might act as badges, rewards, or measures of participation—not necessarily just investments or fundraising instruments.
• He cites Animoca Brands’ education platform TinyTap as an example: teachers can create educational materials and tokenize them so they can be sold or generate ongoing income. The transcript’s figures for potential teacher earnings are illustrative, not independently verified.
• In games, tokenized items such as skins or virtual currency could potentially be used across different experiences, provided companies chose to make them interoperable.
• For businesses, Siu recommends asking which products, services, or communities might benefit from becoming tokenized assets, and how a company could serve customers who have accumulated digital wealth.

Advertising and customer targeting

• Siu contrasts Web2’s largely push-based advertising with Web3 incentives such as airdrops, rewards, and exclusive experiences. He describes Web3 marketing as more focused on attracting participation.
• Public blockchain ownership could let a business identify and reach people who hold particular assets—for example, verified owners of a luxury product—rather than targeting a broad audience based on less precise social-media signals.
• He notes that incentives can also attract bots or low-quality participation, so companies would need to design campaigns carefully.

Tokens, authenticity, and digital identity

• Siu expects many more tokens to be created, including tokens associated with individuals, brands, and communities. He suggests that some token activity may happen in the background rather than being visible in everyday apps.
• He says wallets could eventually provide warnings or indicators about whether a token appears authentic or suspicious, comparing this to antivirus or spam-filtering tools. Blockchain can help establish whether an asset came from a particular wallet, but he does not suggest that this alone will prevent scams.
• He also discusses possible revenue-sharing arrangements when communities create unofficial tokens or derivative content connected to a creator’s brand. He presents this as a possible model, not an established standard.
• For digital identity, he supports systems that make reputation verifiable while preserving privacy. He mentions zero-knowledge proofs as a way to confirm information without necessarily revealing a person’s identity.

Sony and public blockchains

• Siu discusses Sony’s public blockchain, Soneium, and its work with Animoca on anime-related intellectual property, including Solo Leveling.
• He sees corporate blockchains as a way for businesses to extend their networks and let outside developers build permissionlessly. In his analogy, a blockchain can function like an open, composable extension of a company’s APIs, with a token providing a mechanism for value exchange.
• He cites Telegram’s TON blockchain as another example of a large existing network extending its ecosystem through a blockchain. He says major game companies may eventually explore tokens or their own blockchains.

AI agents and future transactions

• Siu expects AI agents to handle more transactions and sees crypto and tokens as natural tools for machine-to-machine payments.
• He imagines future wallets becoming conversational: a user could request access to a service, and an AI agent could obtain the required token or arrange payment.
• He also suggests that AI agents could earn, create, or trade tokens, giving them economic influence. He expects them to compete and cooperate with human investors rather than necessarily replacing human judgment or relationships.
• In discussing space economies, he argues that digital, permissionless transactions could be useful where ordinary cash payments are impractical. His comments about blockchain, quantum computing, and communications across space are speculative projections.

Bitcoin, utility, and monetary policy

• Siu views Bitcoin primarily as a store of value and the crypto sector’s reserve asset, rather than as a currency people will routinely spend. He attributes this partly to “mental accounting”: people treat Bitcoin like savings and other tokens more like spending money.
• He distinguishes assets designed to preserve value through scarcity from networks designed for broad, low-cost use. In his view, high token prices and transaction fees can limit utility, while a fixed supply can make it harder for new users to participate.
• He argues that inflation may help support adoption and access in some systems, while acknowledging that token economics depend on the intended purpose of a network. He also supports using blockchains to improve transparency around public spending.

Animoca Brands and gaming outlook

• Siu says Animoca is considering becoming publicly traded again, but had not decided where or how. He cites company figures from the interview of roughly $340 million in revenue, nearly $100 million in EBITDA, and about $4 billion in assets.
• He identifies digital identity and reputation, education, and gaming as areas of interest. For identity, Animoca is working on reputation systems that could help distinguish trustworthy wallets from bots without requiring users to disclose their names.
• For education, he discusses Open Campus and EDU Chain, including a student-loan initiative with Pencil Finance. He says blockchain could make lending and repayment more efficient and potentially reduce costs.
• Siu remains optimistic about gaming but says its investment narrative has weakened. He points to stable game prices amid rising development costs and argues that negative sentiment has weighed on gaming-related tokens.
• He expects major releases and hardware—including the Nintendo Switch 2 and Grand Theft Auto VI—to renew attention and spending in gaming. He speculates that crypto could eventually appear in role-play servers associated with GTA, depending in part on clearer rules for utility tokens. These are his forecasts, not confirmed product plans.

Sponsor segment

The episode includes a Propy advertisement describing its blockchain-based real-estate platform, crypto transactions, title and deed records, Coinbase-supported crypto escrow, and a campaign offering Propy tokens for completing promotional tasks. The host also discloses that he has invested in the Propy token since 2018.

Reviews, guides, and tutorials

No product review, step-by-step guide, or tutorial is presented. The discussion is an interview and analysis of Web3 concepts, potential use cases, and forecasts.

Main speakers and sources

• Yat Siu — Co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands; principal source of the Web3 analysis and predictions.
• Tony Edward — Host of the Thinking Crypto podcast; asks questions and introduces topics.
• Propy promotional segment — Sponsor advertisement, separate from the interview.