INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The upstarts of crypto aren&t just aiming to disrupt the startup status quo,some are rivaling traditional venture capital investors, too
That particularly evident today afterBinance, the world largest crypto exchange based on daily trade volumes, announced a $1 billion fund to
back blockchain and crypto startups.
The ‘Community Influence& fund, which will be denominated in Binance BNB coin, will be aimed at
nascent startups and also funds themselves, Ella Zhang — who heads the Binance Labs division — revealed today in an online web
broadcastheld today in Chinese
For fund of funds investments as an LP, Binance is looking to back funds with at least $100 million in capital and, of course, a focus on
blockchain and crypto.
The firm will also launch aBinance Ecosystem Fund which it said will include 20 partners.A Binance spokesperson told
TechCrunch that further details of both initiatives will be released soon.
Data from Coinmarketcap.comranks Binance as the world most active
crypto exchange, with over $5 billion of crypto traded in the past 24 hours hours at the time of writing
The company calls Hong Kong home but it is in process of relocating to Malta, where it has been welcomed by regulators after it was forced
out of Japan when regulators cracked down on its business.
Catch Binance CEO ChangpengZhao at TechCrunch blockchain event on July 6
This
isn&t Binance first run at investment, it hasalready made deals via its Labs division, which was unveiled earlier this year and is described
by Zhang as a &social impact fund.&It led a $30 million investment in MobileCoin— a startup that advised byMoxie Marlinspike, the founder
of encrypted messaging app Signal and Open Whisper Systems — and it is establishing an incubator that will nurture ideas and young
projects with financial backing and mentorship.
The company revealed today that its first incubation project will beDache Chain, a new
blockchain-based ride-hailing service in China
The company is already getting hype because one co-founder is Chen Weixing, the CEO of app development startup Funcity who initially founded
Kuaidi Dache, a Chinese ride-hailing startup that eventually became Didi Chuxing, the country dominant service that forced Uber exit from
China.
&This project will utilize blockchain technology to redesign the relationship between the interests and power of entrepreneur,
labors, consumers, investors, and organizers
Dache Chain will establish a community ecosystem with value anchoring, and it is expected to achieve a pure shared ecosystem and solve the
problem of unfair distribution of productivity and wealth,& Binance said in a statement.
Binance also revealed that, besides MobileCoin, it
has made investments in smart contract startupOasis Labs, verification serviceCertik, andcrowdfunding platform Republic.
This initiative is
another example of a major crypto company using its wealth to become an investor and grow its platform through deals with younger companies
I wrote about the trend earlier this year, and since then we&ve seen some notable vehicles emerge including the Ethereum Community Fund,
Ripple Xpring initiative and EOS-creator Block One $1 billion commitment, which has birthed multiple funds that cover some $600
million.
Note:The author owns a small amount of cryptocurrency
Enough to gain an understanding, not enough to change a life.
