Binance Labs changes name as CZ returns to investment leadership

Binance Labs, the venture capital fund of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has just announced plans to change its name and expand its investment range. The change comes against the backdrop of CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) returning and directly participating in the fund's investment activities.

The highlight of the new strategy is the expansion of Binance Labs investment range. Previously, the fund focused mainly on primary market transactions. Binance Labs will now look at all types of trading, including secondary markets, OTC (off-exchange) trading, and others.

Binance Labs affirms its commitment to focus on fundamentals, towards the goal of making a lasting impact on the cryptocurrency industry. The Fund will continue to support founders who share a vision of building and sustainable development, not only in 2025 but also in the years to come.

In 2024, Binance Labs invested in a total of 46 projects. Of these, 14 projects were incubated and supported through the MVB program focused on BNB Chain and Labs' Incubation program, the remaining 32 were direct investments.

Investments are distributed in a balanced way, directed both towards the consolidation of infrastructure and the development of applications (50/50).

In terms of field, Binance Labs has shown diverse interest, including DeFi (with 10 projects invested), AI (7 projects), Bitcoin ecosystem (7 projects), Restaking (4 projects), Game (3 projects), ZK (2 projects), RWA (2 projects), and consumer applications (2 projects). In addition, the fund also invests in other areas such as security, cryptocurrency wallets, Chain Abstraction, Move ecosystem, and DesCI.

Binance Labs' portfolio spans across many different blockchains. Blockchains such as Telegram, Solana, Ethereum, and Ethereum layer 2 solutions can be mentioned, in addition to emerging ecosystems such as Berachain, Monad, Initia, and established ecosystems such as Stacks, Celestia, and Bittensor.

In particular, 20% of the fund's total investment comes from projects in the BNB Chain ecosystem, mainly through the MVB program.

Binance Labs predicts 2025 will be an exciting year for the cryptocurrency industry. The Year of the Horse, in the conception of the fund, symbolizes growth and creativity, opens up many opportunities for innovation and development.

In addition, the upcoming Trump administration's pro-crypto stance is expected to create a more favorable legal environment. This factor can attract interest and investment from large organizations, contribute to the maturation of the industry and build a more solid foundation based on fundamental elements.