YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, announced a $1 billion fund on Wednesday to support projects building on the BNB Chain (BNB) network.

Backed by Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, YZi Labs said the fund aims to strengthen the BNB ecosystem and attract developers in areas including decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, real-world assets, and trading applications. The company, which rebranded last year after separating from Binance's core exchange business, said the initiative reflects a“long-term commitment” to advancing blockchain-based innovation.

According to a post on X, the fund will support projects“leveraging the high-performance, low-cost infrastructure of BNB Chain” while offering access to integrations, developer tools, and Binance's ecosystem of more than 460 million users.

The announcement comes as the BNB token has been on a rally this past week. BNB's price touched an all-time high of $1,330 in early morning trade on Wednesday after rising nearly 2% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the altcoin trended in 'bullish' territory amid 'extremely high' levels of chatter over the past day. 

BNB now ranks ahead of XRP as the third-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of about $180 billion, while XRP stands at roughly $178 billion. The BNB Chain is also the leading decentralized chain by volume, according to DefiLlama data.

Since Zhao's release from prison last year, he has taken a more active role in YZi Labs, which targets startups across Web3, AI, and biotechnology. The fund has previously backed projects like PancakeSwap (CAKE), ListaDAO, and Aster (AST). While often described as Zhao's family office, YZi Labs says it operates differently from a traditional structure, emphasizing venture investment rather than estate or tax management.

Read also: BNB Hits Record $1,330 While Bitcoin, Ethereum Retreat Amid $650 Million Liquidations

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

MENAFN08102025007385015968ID1110167411