YZi Labs, a venture capital firm established by Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, is introducing a new $1 billion fund aimed at supporting founders within the BNB ecosystem, coinciding with the token’s rise to unprecedented levels.
YZi Labs announced on Wednesday a $1 billion Builder Fund to reaffirm its commitment to founders in the BNB (BNB) ecosystem, specifically focusing on the BNB Chain.
“The BNB ecosystem signifies the next generation of digital infrastructure, merging decentralization and on-chain scalability with security and genuine distribution,” stated Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs.
The fund’s initiation followed BNB, the native token of the Binance-supported BNB Chain, becoming the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization on Tuesday, gaining at least $40 billion in market worth in October.
YZi Labs: A consistent supporter of the BNB ecosystem
Previously called Binance Labs, YZi Labs has been integral in driving growth within the BNB ecosystem by funding various initiatives, including the Binance-linked decentralized exchange (DEX) PancakeSwap.
Additionally, YZi Labs has supported ListaDAO, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol operating on the BNB Chain, alongside the blockchain infrastructure project Aspecta (ASP) and Aster, a multichain DEX which was recently removed from listings by major crypto data aggregator DefiLlama.
Moreover, YZi Labs has been enhancing institutional BNB involvement through projects such as BNB Digital Asset Treasury (DAT), the RWA [real-world asset] fund by China Renaissance, and the BNB Yield Fund by Hash Global.
$1 billion to cover diverse sectors
According to Zhang of YZi Labs, the new $1 billion fund aims to empower BNB builders across diverse sectors, including DeFi, RWA, AI, and decentralized science (DeSci). The funding will also focus on supporting BNB Chain-based payment systems and wallets, as stated in the announcement.
As a part of this initiative, the flagship accelerator of BNB Chain, Most Valuable Builder (MVB), will function under YZi Labs’ Easy Residency global incubation program, specifically catering to BNB builders.
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Collectively, MVB and Easy Residency will provide a consolidated program offering up to $500,000 in funding along with direct connections to the YZi Labs and BNB Chain teams, alongside YZi Labs’ expansive network of investors, mentors, and partners within the user ecosystem.
“We are looking for early-stage entrepreneurs committed to long-term success, with strong conviction, execution capabilities, and well-defined product-market fit,” a spokesperson for YZi mentioned to Cointelegraph. The representative added that the fund will begin to be deployed progressively starting now.
Is YZi managing CZ’s estimated $116 billion in BNB?
While YZi Labs holds over $10 billion in assets as a global venture capital entity, reports indicate that the firm also oversees billions in assets from Binance co-founders, CZ and Yi He, according to a January Bloomberg report.
Despite YZi denying that it operates as a family office in January, Zhang had earlier reportedly stated that the firm was converted to a “purely a family office investment vehicle.”
“While the capital comes from CZ, YZi Labs’ structure and operations are distinct from a standard family office,” a spokesperson for YZi conveyed to Cointelegraph, emphasizing a focus on proactive investments and incubation programs.
Related: Crypto trader transforms $3K into $2M after a post from CZ sends memecoin soaring
With BNB reaching historic highs exceeding $1,300, CZ’s personal wealth linked to BNB has surged dramatically. As BNB’s market cap hit a peak of $182 billion on Tuesday, it is estimated that CZ could hold around $116 billion in the crypto asset, as previous reports suggested he controlled at least 64% of the BNB supply as of June 2024.
CZ isn’t the only beneficiary of BNB’s recent market surge. According to the on-chain analytics platform Bubblemaps, approximately 70% of BNB Chain traders are currently making profits, with 40 traders each earning $1 million.
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