YZI Labs Unveils $1B BNB Builder Fund as BNB Hits Record Highs, Eyes DeFi, AI, and RWA Growth

Changpeng Zhao’s Venture Arm Launches $1B Fund to Accelerate Builders and Cement BNB Chain’s Position in the Crypto Market

TL;DR

• YZI Labs, led by CZ, announced a $1 billion Builder Fund to expand the BNB ecosystem.
• The launch coincides with BNB reaching a new all-time high near $1,336 and a $182 billion coin market cap.
• The fund targets DeFi, AI, real-world assets, and decentralized science projects across the BNB Chain.

YZI Labs, the investment firm founded by Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, introduced a $1 billion “Builder Fund” on October 8, 2025, aimed at fueling the next wave of BNB Chain innovation. The initiative was announced as BNB’s crypto price surged to a record high of about $1,336, pushing its market capitalization toward $182 billion and adding roughly $40 billion in value in October alone. YZI Labs said the fund is designed to accelerate developers working on decentralized finance (DeFi), artificial intelligence (AI), tokenized real-world assets (RWA), decentralized science (DeSci), payments infrastructure, and wallet applications built on BNB Chain — a network that now ranks first globally by daily active users, DEX trading volume, and transaction count within the latest crypto price index data.

Ella Zhang, head of YZI Labs, framed the move as a commitment to long-term builders rather than short-term speculation. “Through this $1 billion BNB Builder Fund, YZI Labs is committed to supporting BNB builders across sectors such as DeFi, AI, RWA, and DeSci — those building the next generation of open systems that connect technology back to human progress,” she said. The firm will deploy capital progressively rather than as a one-time allocation. Projects selected through the BNB Chain’s Most Valuable Builder (MVB) accelerator — which now operates under YZI’s Easy Residency program — can receive up to $500,000 along with mentorship from YZI partners and direct support from the BNB Chain core team. According to YZI, the fund focuses on early-stage founders with “strong conviction, execution capability, and clear product-market alignment,” emphasizing real-world utility and sustained ecosystem growth.

The launch coincides with BNB Chain’s resurgence as one of the largest blockchains by transaction volume and fee generation. Recent on-chain figures show the network processing roughly 26 million transactions per day, posting $6.05 billion in 24-hour DEX volume and earning $5.57 million in daily fees — metrics that place it at the top of the broader crypto price index. Projects like Aster and ListaDAO have recorded rapid growth under YZI’s umbrella, with Aster’s total value locked surging more than 500% to $2.4 billion as liquidity expanded alongside BNB’s market rally. Bubblemaps analysis shows about 70% of BNB traders remain profitable, while at least 40 wallets netted over $1 million from the recent upswing.

YZI Labs, formerly Binance Labs, has been instrumental in developing the BNB ecosystem through strategic backing of projects such as PancakeSwap, Aspecta, and the BNB Digital Asset Treasury. The firm now manages an estimated $10 billion in assets globally and continues to expand investments into Web3, AI, and biotech. While it declines to describe itself as a traditional family office, industry reports suggest capital for the Builder Fund is sourced largely from CZ and co-founder Yi He. Analysts view the initiative as CZ’s renewed effort to reinforce BNB Chain as a core infrastructure layer of the coin market cap ecosystem after his re-entry into the public sphere. 

Market observers note that large-scale ecosystem funds have often triggered short-term price rallies but their long-term impact depends on execution and the quality of projects backed. YZI’s Builder Fund is thus seen as both a strategic bet on BNB Chain’s future and a signal of confidence as the network consolidates its lead within the global crypto price index. By aligning its financial firepower with a focus on founder development and cross-sector innovation, the firm appears poised to shape the next phase of BNB Chain’s evolution from a high-throughput blockchain into a broader economic platform linking DeFi, AI, and real-world finance.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.