Binance Spun Off Venture Capital Arm Earlier This Year

• Binance spun off Binance Labs into a separate company at some point after Feb. 27.

• The divestment is one of the most notable actions of Binance CEO Richard Teng since he took over in November.

• The venture capital firm said it had a $10 billion valuation and was ranked as one of the most active crypto venture capital firms last year by CoinGecko.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance spun off its venture capital arm, Binance Labs, earlier this year, in one of the most notable actions of new CEO Richard Teng, who replaced Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in November, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Binance Labs has a disclaimer on its website saying it is “an independent venture and not part of the Binance Group.” The firm “is licensed by Binance to use its trademark but otherwise have no other relationship with the Binance Group.”

Teng took over after Zhao, who co-founded the company, pled guilty to charges of breaking sanctions and money-transmitting laws in the U.S. The appointment was seen as a sign of a steer toward greater regulatory compliance at Binance given Teng’s background working for the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

In a February blog post, in which Binance Labs still identified itself as “the venture capital arm and accelerator of Binance” the firm said it had a valuation of $10 billion and around 250 companies in its portfolio, including Ethereum sidechain Polygon and sports-focused blockchain provider Chiliz.

Research by CoinGecko last year found that Binance Labs had made a total of 177 investments as of September 2023, ranking the ninth most active among its peers, a comparable figure to firms such as Pantera Capital and Digital Currency Group and slightly less than Animoca Brands. Coinbase Ventures was comfortably the most active crypto venture capital company in the period, with 372 investments, according to the research.

The spinoff was reported earlier by Bloomberg.

Neither Binance Labs nor Binance responded to CoinDesk’s request for further comment.

UPDATE (March 15, 11:33 UTC): Adds paragraphs on Binance Labs’ portfolio and comparison to other firms.