• Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of crypto behemoth Binance, was the most prolific venture investor over the last six months.
• Venture capital (VC) funding into the Web3 ecosystem fell 76% in Q2 2023 when compared to the same period in 2022.
• Despite this, Binance Labs has emerged as a white knight in the cryptocurrency sector, leading investments into established DeFi protocols and providing follow-on funding for projects.
Binance Labs Leads Web3 Investment
Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of crypto behemoth Binance, was the most prolific venture investor over the last six months. According to Messari , Binance Labs led investments on more than 80% of deals closed within this time frame. This is despite a significant decline of 76% in overall Venture Capital (VC) funding into the Web3 ecosystem when compared to Q2 2022.
DeFi Protocols Receive Follow-On Funding
Apart from making lead investments into startups and projects, Binance Labs also provided follow-on funding for established DeFi protocols such as Radiant Capital, Maverick Protocol and Pendle Finance. This strategy indicates that they are expanding proven projects onto their native blockchain – The BNB Chain.
Native Entities Struggle Despite Support
Despite all these efforts from Binance Labs to provide liquidity to Web3 startups and protocols, its native blockchain witnessed a steady decline in TVL (Total Value Locked). According to data from DeFiLlama , total value locked on its network has plunged 42% YTD (Year To Date).
Binance Pumps $5 Million Into Curve Finance
Earlier this month, Binance announced an investment of $5 million towards Curve Finance [CRV], indicating that they are supporting tokens even during these tough times experienced by cryptocurrencies across markets.
Conclusion
Overall it can be concluded that despite a bleak outlook for cryptocurrency investments globally due to market conditions, entities like Binance have shown an unwavering commitment towards supporting projects and startups within their ecosystems through both lead investments and follow-on funding initiatives.
