TLDR:
- Binance has split from its venture capital arm, Binance Labs, and is now an independent entity valued at $10 billion.
- The change, effective on March 15, was led by the new CEO, Richard Teng, and aims to enhance operational efficiency and growth.
Earlier this year, Binance made the strategic decision to separate its venture capital division, Binance Labs, establishing it as an independent entity valued at $10 billion. The change in operation, effective from March 15, was led by the newly appointed CEO, Richard Teng, who assumed the role four months ago. Binance Labs officially announced its split from the Binance group, indicating that it will operate independently with separate employment agreements from Binance exchange staff. Despite the split, Binance Labs will continue to use the Binance brand under a licensing agreement. The venture capital arm has invested in over 250 projects, including industry giants like PancakeSwap, Polygon, and Curve DAO. In February, Binance Labs invested in Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol. The transition is not expected to impact the core operations of Binance Labs, which will focus on finding and investing in promising crypto projects. The move follows a settlement with US authorities in November, where Binance was charged $4.3 billion and requested the founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, to step down. Despite the split, Binance retains a significant market share among centralized exchanges, accounting for about 50% of global trading volume.
