Binance Labs Raises $500M Fund for Web 3, Blockchain Investments

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has raised $500 million to establish a fund that will invest in Web 3 and blockchain companies.

• DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, Whampoa Group and other private equity funds all participated in the raise, according to a blog post on Wednesday.
• "The goal of the newly closed investment fund is to discover and support projects and founders with the potential to build and to lead Web 3 across DeFi, NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, social, and more,” Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said.
• The fund will make investments across companies in three stages: incubation, early-stage venture and late-stage growth.
• Binance Labs' fund is the latest in a string of recently established crypto funds by venture capitalists, with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) raising $4.5 billion last week to demonstrate confidence in the market in spite of the recent downturn.
• The entire market cap for cryptocurrencies is at $1.3 trillion, a 55% drop since November when it was at $2.9 trillion.