Binance Labs Quietly Transitions to Independent Entity From Binance – Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, seems to have been separated from its parent company Binance, as suggested by information found on the website of the former.
This separation took place earlier this year, representing a noteworthy milestone within CEO Richard Teng’s four-month leadership period. The website of Binance Labs has been updated to explicitly declare its independent operation, emphasizing its disassociation from the Binance Group and its activities, including cryptocurrency exchange operations.
According to Internet Archive records, this alteration took place sometime between February 19 and February 24. Contracts for Binance Labs staff now differ from those of employees at the cryptocurrency exchange, reflecting the organizational structure seen in the Binance-backed BNB Chain project. Despite these adjustments, minimal operational changes are expected.
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While the specific motives behind this restructuring remain undisclosed, Alex Odagiu, Investment Director at Binance Labs, emphasized the entity’s decision to sever ties with the broader Binance group. However, it will continue to operate under its licensing agreement to utilize the Binance brand.
Despite these changes in organizational structure, Binance Labs remains active in its operations. In the previous month, the platform made an investment in Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol pioneering native BTC staking for PoS blockchains. This protocol enables users to stake BTC and earn yields without relying on third-party custody, bridge solutions, or wrapping services.
Furthermore, Binance Labs has incubated three projects: Ethena Labs, which specializes in Ethereum derivatives; NFPrompt, an AI-driven User Generated Content (UGC) platform for Web3 creators; and Shogu.fi, a protocol optimizing trader extractable value (TEV) through intent-driven processes.
Since November, Binance has been under intense scrutiny subsequent to agreeing to pay over $4 billion in fines to U.S. regulatory agencies, marking one of the largest settlements in U.S. corporate history. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Binance, Binance.US, and its then-CEO CZ (Changpeng Zhao) remains unsettled, with the motion to dismiss the lawsuit still under contention.
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The SEC is bolstering its case with additional authority from various lawsuits, including a class action against Binance, to oppose the dismissal of the lawsuit. However, Judge Amy Berman Jackson recently instructed the court not to consider discussions or further elaboration on the supplementary authority presented by the parties in their arguments.
