After breaking away from its parent company Binance, Binance Labs has transformed into an autonomous venture capital entity, as detailed in a blog post dated March 12. The venture capital fund now operates independently from the Binance exchange and boasts a portfolio valued at over $10 billion. This portfolio comprises more than 250 projects spanning across 25 countries, with an impressive return on investment exceeding 14x.
With a focus on early-stage Web3 projects, Binance Labs offers comprehensive support to its portfolio companies, including personalized mentoring and access to resources within the broader Binance ecosystem. Earlier this year, Binance quietly transitioned its venture capital arm into this independent fund. Employees of Binance Labs now have distinct contracts separate from those of Binance Exchange employees. The rebranded venture capital arm is actively seeking new investments in the Web3 space.
As part of its continued investment efforts, Binance Labs has announced the launch of its Season 7 Incubation Program, accepting applications from founders until April 15, 2024. He Yi, Binance co-founder and head of Binance Labs, emphasized the fund's commitment to supporting early-stage founders across various chains and ecosystems, fostering long-term development in the Web3 landscape.
Binance Labs' previous investment round, Season 6, attracted numerous applications, boasting an acceptance rate of just 3%. Ultimately, only seven promising projects secured funding, including Ethena, a derivatives infrastructure provider. Ethena made waves by surpassing $6.8 million in cumulative daily revenue, solidifying its position as the highest-grossing decentralized application (DApp). Notably, Ethena Labs introduced the USDe synthetic dollar on the public mainnet, attracting significant investor interest with an impressive annual yield (APY) of 27.6%.
Addressing speculation surrounding USDe's yield, Ethena Labs founder Guy Young clarified that the yield is publicly verifiable, stemming from staking earnings and shorting the Ethereum perpetual contract. Presently, Ethena's USDe synthetic USD boasts a robust yield of 60.9% and caters to a user base exceeding 53,000. With a total value locked in the project exceeding $1.1 billion, Ethena continues to thrive within the Web3 ecosystem.
