A new fund worth $1 billion has just launched, aiming to supercharge growth within the BNB Chain world. This major financial boost comes from YZi Labs, the investment firm started by Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. YZi Labs used to be known as Binance Labs. The goal is simple: find and back talented builders creating new projects on BNB Chain.
This initiative couldn’t come at a better time. The BNB token itself recently hit record-high prices. CZ, a key figure at YZi Labs, is behind this push. He wants to see more innovation in key areas like decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world assets (RWA), artificial intelligence (AI), and decentralized science (DeSci). “Let’s keep building!” CZ cheered.
The new Builder Fund was announced on X this past Wednesday. It shows a big commitment to cutting-edge ideas. These include projects focused on trading, payments, and digital wallets. The fund aims to really double down on supporting those who build on BNB Chain’s fast and low-cost system.
Teams selected for this fund get a lot of help. They can receive up to $500,000 in funding. They also gain access to better tools and connections. Plus, they tap into an ecosystem with over 460 million users. This program is part of YZi Labs’ acceleration program, EASY Residency, now in its second season. It also includes BNB Chain’s Most Valuable Builder (MVB) track. The program is expanding, with new hubs opening in New York, San Francisco, Dubai, and Singapore.
Ella Zhang, who leads YZi Labs, spoke about this move. She believes the BNB ecosystem is the next step for digital infrastructure. It brings together decentralization and on-chain speed with security and real impact. Zhang added that the $1 billion fund will support builders in many fields. This includes DeFi, AI, RWA, and DeSci. These are the people building new open systems that connect technology to human progress.
BNB’s Amazing Market Run
This news hits as the BNB token is flying high. On Tuesday, it reached new all-time highs above $1,330. BNB first passed the $1,000 mark just last month. Since then, it has jumped about 50% in a month. It also climbed nearly 30% in the last week alone.
During this impressive run, BNB has become the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market value. It now sits behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum, having passed XRP. CZ celebrated this milestone on social media. “BNB meme season!” he joked on X on Tuesday. He said he did not expect such a surge. Yet, he reminded everyone to “keep building!” This highlights a focus on development, no matter the market prices.
YZi Labs Backing BNB Chain’s Progress
YZi Labs oversees more than $10 billion in assets globally. The firm changed its name from Binance Labs in January. It has supported over 300 projects in more than 25 countries. YZi Labs focuses its investments on projects that make a real difference. This includes Web3, AI, and biotechnology. Recently, it has increased support for projects like Ethena Labs. This company issues the USDe and USDtb tokens. YZi Labs has also helped bring in more large institutional investors. They did this through initiatives like the BNB Digital Asset Treasury.
BNB Chain itself has seen big wins lately. It recently hit 26 million transactions. Block times dropped to just 0.75 seconds after the Maxwell hard fork in May. These improvements have brought in more users and developers. The ecosystem uses BNB Smart Chain for secure DeFi with low fees. It has opBNB for fast, scalable Layer 2 operations. And Greenfield offers decentralized storage.
The door is open for dedicated builders to innovate on BNB Chain. This move clearly strengthens BNB Chain’s position. It shows it as a scalable and easy-to-use foundation for the future of global finance. This is especially true in a quickly changing crypto market.