From cultural identity to decentralized capitalism, Yat Siu explores how Web3 and blockchain will transform digital property rights, reputation, and economic participation.
Henzelene Heaelley interviewed Yat Siu, founder of Animoca Brands, exploring the intersection of blockchain technology and decentralized finance and how Web3 could redefine digital ownership, reputation, and economic models for the future. Yat Siu’s perspective is drawn from years of experience and innovation and provides a fresh outlook on how Web3 could redefine digital ownership, reputation, and economic models for the future.
See Interview: https://youtu.be/g-KpRrLXPIg
Web3 as a Framework for Ownership
Yat Siu is one of the key figures in pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Web3, the next iteration of the internet. In the interview, he described Web3 as a “web of ownership,” where individuals can claim not just digital assets but, more importantly, ownership of their reputation. “What’s the most important thing you can own? Your reputation,” Siu emphasized. The crux of Web3, in his view, is about allowing people to own their digital identities, thus empowering them in a way that wasn’t previously possible on traditional Web2 platforms.
To explain this, Yat Siu used the analogy of college education and employment history. When someone applies for a job, their potential employer does not ask about their bank balance or how much property they own. Instead, they are concerned with the applicant’s track record and references — essentially, their reputation. This is the same principle Yat believes should be translated into the digital world via Web3. “Web3 is perfect for this,” he said, citing zero-knowledge proof technology, which allows people to verify their identity or reputation without giving away sensitive information.
Yat also highlighted the historical perspective of ownership and reputation, saying, “It wasn’t long ago that people didn’t even own themselves.” Most people’s last names, he noted, were derived from the cities they lived in or the professions they held because they were, essentially, under the control of others. Ownership of self and reputation is foundational to the evolution of personal and economic freedom, something that Web3 can now extend into the digital realm.
Reputation in a Digital World
One of the challenges facing blockchain and decentralized platforms is how to manage trust and reputation in a largely anonymous world. Siu argued that reputation needs to be central to the Web3 ecosystem, not anonymity. “If we are in a society where nobody knows each other and nobody can trust each other, then you don’t have society,” he explained.
In the current internet landscape (Web2), platforms rely on rudimentary systems like user ratings to establish a level of trust. These systems, while functional, are inadequate for the complexities of human behavior and relationships. “We are much more than just a 9.3 rating,” Siu pointed out, advocating for a richer, more nuanced approach to trust and reputation in Web3.
He mentioned his company’s work with MochaVerse and Mocha ID, initiatives aimed at building a cross-chain reputation system where users’ digital actions and contributions create verifiable trust. This system would be far more sophisticated than Web2 ratings, providing an infrastructure for everything from secured credit markets to creating safer environments for NFT drops and token sales, where bots and fake identities currently undermine trust.
The Cultural Significance of NFTs
Siu is bullish on NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which have often been dismissed by critics as mere digital art or collectibles. For him, NFTs are far more than that; they are “digital stores of culture.” He described NFTs as cultural assets that signal identity in the same way physical items like luxury goods do. “If I buy a Rolex or Nike shoes, I’m signaling something about myself,” he said. In the same vein, people use NFTs to signify their digital identity and community affiliations.
In Siu’s view, NFTs are not just competing with other financial assets but are part of a broader shift towards a digital economy that emphasizes culture and social capital. He likened NFTs to items like a million-dollar meme coin: at a certain point, these assets transcend economic value and become symbols of community and cultural belonging. “When the market matures,” Siu predicted, “NFTs will become much bigger because they have a much deeper cultural connection than a meme coin.”
He also pointed out that NFTs are not limited to digital art or collectibles; they have potential use cases in intellectual property, real estate, and education. Siu shared an example of how his company used NFTs as intellectual property wrappers for teaching content in a project called Open Campus. This allowed creators to tokenize their content, giving them the ability to earn income from intellectual property they would otherwise not have been able to monetize effectively.
The Power of Network Effects
Siu’s enthusiasm for Web3 and blockchain technology extends to the way tokens are reshaping economic participation. In traditional systems, network effects are often captured by a few large companies like Facebook or Instagram, but in Web3, tokens allow participants to own a piece of the network they contribute to. “In Web3, you can partake in the value you help create,” Siu said. This shift creates a new asset class where users are not just passive consumers but active participants in building and benefiting from network effects.
He illustrated this with a simple example: “If you’re a shareholder in Facebook, it doesn’t make you more influential on Instagram.” In Web3, however, holding a token in a network like Ethereum or a decentralized application can give users both financial and social benefits. “You’re not just buying a token for its yield, you’re buying access to a growing network.”
A New Frontier for Digital Property Rights
Perhaps the most profound point Siu made during the interview was about the potential of Web3 to democratize digital property rights. Property rights have been a cornerstone of economic growth and innovation in the physical world. In the digital world, however, property rights are virtually non-existent. “The trillions of dollars of value generated today in the digital world will 20x or 30x when digital property rights are fully established,” Siu predicted.
He sees the tokenization of assets as a way to extend property rights to things that were previously untouchable. For example, virtual items in games, intellectual property, and even digital time can become capital assets in the Web3 space. This shift will not only open up new markets but also create new opportunities for wealth generation in areas that were previously overlooked or undervalued.
The Democratization of Capitalism
In closing, Yat Siu shared his broader vision for the future, where Web3 could lead to a fairer and more decentralized form of capitalism. He criticized the current system, where a small group of oligarchs and corporations hold disproportionate power over assets and wealth. “When you have a much more distributed framework of capitalism, which is what tokenization can offer, I think we’ll go back to the true roots of what capitalism and a free, fair, and open market was supposed to be,” he concluded.
In Siu’s vision, Web3 represents not just a technological shift but a social and economic transformation that could fundamentally reshape how value is created, shared, and owned.
