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Cosmic Guild Secures $1.5M in Seed Funding Led by Binance Labs

Metaverse gaming platform Cosmic Guild raised a sum of $1.5 million in seed funding led by Binance Labs – the investment and innovation incubation arm of Binance.

As announced by the trading platform, the funds raised from venture capital firms will be used to expand Cosmic Guild’s portfolio of NFTs and digital game assets to offer more opportunities to Cosmic’s community of gamers.

Cosmic Guild serves as a play-to-earn community for gamers called ‘scholars’ where they connect with the gaming ecosystem’s in-game characters or NFTs. Comic Guild helps these scholars thrive within its ecosystem and gain adequate rewards for their skills with minimal out-of-pocket investment.

“Our mission is to empower individual gamers across different societies and come together as gamers, to not just play-to-earn, but to also play for fun, form meaningful friendships and have fun together in the metaverse. We hope to serve as the gateway platform for gamers and NFT-owners and as the confluence of capital and talent to meet,” said Kenneth Lee, Co-founder of Cosmic Guild, adding that, “Cosmic Guild is planning to support upcoming games launching on Binance Smart Chain and other games in the Binance ecosystem, and the team is excited to make announcements soon.“

At present, Cosmic Guild provides in-game characters for Axie Infinity, Thetan Arena, Pegaxy and several others. Over 600 scholars are being supported to play on Axie Infinity, and the ecosystem has over 1250 more gamers waiting to be included in its scholarship or funding program. As per the announcement, Cosmic Guild will be able to loan gaming NFTs to more scholars and expand their gaming portfolios with the newly secured funds.

Alameda Research, DeFiance Capital, and Play Ventures also participated in the funding round, all of whom took advantage of the growing hype in the DeFi, NFT, and metaverse world respectively.

Binance Completes Woo Network's Series A+ Round with $12M Investment

Following a record 2021 where Venture Capital (VC) firms went on an investment spree, splashing massive capital on crypto, DeFi, and NFT-focused startups, the momentum is picking up again in the new year.

The latest funding announcement came from Binance Labs, the VC arm of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, which said it backed Woo Network with $12 million in its Series A+ round.

Per the announcement, the investment appears to be a solo affair as both Binance and Woo Network sought avenues to bolster their strategic relationship. The funding round is notably going to be used in supporting WOO Network’s rapid expansion through talent acquisition, research and development, and the development of new decentralized products.

Ran Yi, Chief of Ecosystem Development at WOO Network, shared his thoughts on the cooperation with Binance.

“When talking about liquidity, Binance has far-and-away the highest concentration of volume and users of any centralized exchange… As a member of Binance Smart Chain’s Most Valuable Builder program, where we develop products and mentor early-stage projects, we are uniquely positioned to expand our strategic relationship,”

Woo Network has carved a niche for itself as a major liquidity provider for more than 40 institutions, exchanges, trading teams, wallets, and decentralized applications. At present, Woo Network’s suite of clients includes DYDX, Matcha, ParaSwap, 1inch, and DODO, all leveraging capital-efficient solutions to gain an edge over passive liquidity providers.

The funding round comes after Woo Network raised $30 million from investors back in November 2021. Amongst the investors who back the firm includes Three Arrows Capital, PSP Soteria Ventures, Gate Ventures, QCP Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Avalanche, and BitTorrent. On the part of Binance, the firm’s VC has expressed its willingness to continually back innovative platforms in the space.

This is an insight into the potential boost that the investing world will likely witness this year.

PancakeSwap’s Native Token Once Surged by Nearly 10% after Binance Labs Sets Foot in Ecosystem

After Binance Labs, the incubation and venture capital arm of crypto exchange Binance made a strategic investment in PancakeSwap, the network’s utility and governance token, CAKE, which has once soared by nearly 10%.

As the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) built on BNB Chain, PancakeSwap’s daily active users have reached at least 400,000 since its launch in September 2020.

CAKE was up by 5.3% to hit $4.62 before dropping over 2.5%, hitting $4.35 during the Asia trading section, with its 24-hour trading volume clocking $159 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

The investment made by Binance Labs is meant to open the doors to the next wave of blockchain adoption like Web3 exploration by providing enterprise solutions, marketing and community support, and technology development.

Bill Qian, the head of Binance Labs, pointed out:

“PancakeSwap has been leading the development and mass adoption of BNB Chain. Given that PancakeSwap is the most widely used dApp and the DeFi project with the highest TVL on BNB Chain, we have and will continue to provide strong support for the project.”

Unlike most other decentralized exchanges, PancakeSwap unitizes the BNB Chain, which uses a next-generation consensus mechanism known as Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) to enhance efficiency levels.

Therefore, PancakeSwap represents a turning point for decentralized finance (DeFi) on BNB Chain since it paves the way for many DeFi solutions, including yield farms, synthetics, and wrapped asset swaps. 

PancakeSwap’s AMM model

Using an automated market maker (AMM) model, PancakeSwap enables the swapping of BEP-20 tokens and permits users to trade against a liquidity pool.

BNB Chain is a decentralized public blockchain network launched by Binance. It has played an instrumental role in powering the decentralized application (dApp) sector. For instance, it hosts more than 1,300 active dApps in different areas like non-fungible token (NFT), Metaverse, blockchain games, and DeFi.

As a result, BNB Chain has carried out at least 3 billion transactions undertaken by 163 million unique addresses since its inception in 2020.

Binance Appoints Co-Founder Yi He to Lead $7.5B Venture Arm

Binance, the world’s largest digital currency trading platform, has appointed co-founder, He Yi to lead Binance Labs, its $7.5 billion venture capital arm.

He Yi has been a crucial part of the Binance success story since its inception. Amongst many other responsibilities, she has been in charge of the exchange’s customer support, institutional business, marketing, Binance P2P, and Earn.

By taking charge of Binance Labs, He will be assuming more responsibilities by leading the company’s investment strategy when the venture capital outlook is very gloomy.

“As part of the founding team, Yi has been actively involved in Labs since its inception and has played a pivotal role in identifying early-stage projects and founders with the vision and drive to disrupt those global institutions that no longer serve society effectively,” said Binance CEO CZ (Changpeng Zhao), adding that “This is the perfect moment for Yi to take on a larger role in Labs as this market presents an unparalleled opportunity to identify those projects with the tenacity to thrive in tough market conditions.”

He will help build on the strides of Binance Labs, which has a sterling record of 2,100% growth across its cumulative protocol since inception. Binance Labs currently holds as much as $7.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) and counts the likes of FTX, CertiK, Polygon, and Dune Analytics as some of its flagship protocols.

The female leader will bring her experience to help single out those founders whose innovation stands out and can chart a good growth path amidst these challenging times in crypto’s history.

“Part of the journey of seeing Binance grow, especially through tough market conditions, has been the ability to identify those founders that have the skills and embody the values needed to thrive in an environment where resources are more limited. As a leading player in the space, my goal is to help define the industry standard by identifying and supporting sustainable projects and building an ecosystem of quality blockchain solutions that empowers the entire industry,” said He.

Part of her first assignment will be allocating the proceeds of the $500 million fund raised in June this year.

Binance Labs to Establish a Web3 Developer Community

Binance Labs is planning to build a Web3 developer community, but the specific information has not been disclosed yet, Binance announced on Thursday.

The newly established Web3 developer community will be open to existing and future Web3 developers, including Web3 project technical leaders or computer science students exploring careers in Web3.

Binance said selected respondents would be invited by email to participate in discussions in late September.

Binance Labs is the incubation and venture capital arm of the crypto exchange Binance.

Founded in April 2018, Binance Labs promotes top projects promoting Web3 and blockchain technology by identifying, investing in, and empowering promising blockchain entrepreneurs, startups, and community support.

Last month, Binance, the world’s largest digital currency trading platform, appointed co-founder, He Yi to lead Binance Labs, its $7.5 billion venture capital arm.

Binance Labs has seen cumulative protocol growth of 2,100% since its inception. Binance Labs currently manages up to $7.5 billion in assets (AUM), with FTX, CertiK, Polygon, and Dune Analytics among its flagship protocols.

Binance Labs envisions Web3 as the next-generation Internet, where digital information is enabled by blockchain technology, interconnected in a decentralized manner, and publicly owned by users.

Binance Labs to Invest in 7 Startups from the MVB Accelerator Program

Binance Labs, the incubation and Venture Capital arm of Binance Exchange, has announced it will invest in 7 startups under the Season 5 of The Most Valuable Builder (MVB) Accelerator Program.

Co-led by the BNB Chain, the MVB program focuses on helping innovative projects establish their brands on the BNB Chain.

While the current iteration of the MVB Program is the most contested, with over 700 people participating, the seven startups that are bound to be backed are proven to be ingenious and innovative and will make a good addition to the current Binance ecosystem and beyond.

The projects that will be bootstrapped include SpaceID, a startup building decentralized, censorship-resistant, and open-sourced universal identifiers; Overeality, a protocol building the infrastructure for Web3 interoperability and scalability; Multichain Event Protocol, an interoperability communication protocol.

Others include Meta Apes, a free-to-play and win-to-earn mobile strategy game; Velvet Capital which makes DeFi sleeker and safer by helping users invest into tokenized portfolios automatically; Web3Go, a multichain open data analytics platform that supports push notifications for on-chain events, and; Gameta, a platform that allows users to play different casual games under one roof.

“The MVB Accelerator Program helps innovative projects scale on the BNB Chain so they can reach their full potential,” said Yi He, Binance Co-Founder who was appointed as the Head of Binance Labs, “Binance Labs supports founders on their product, operations, community, and capital needs. These projects will grow further and positively impact the BNB Chain and the broader crypto ecosystem.”

Binance currently occupies a pivotal point in the digital currency ecosystem today and is approached alongside FTX Derivatives Exchange as the lender of last resort. With the crypto industry roiled up with price slumps and bankruptcies, financial prop-up from Binance and FTX has been relied on as a major avenue for embattled startups to get back on their feet.

Binance CEO Estimates that the Firm May Spend Over $1B on Deals by the End of 2022

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of global leading digital-asset platform Binance has announced that the firm may spend more than $1 billion on investment by the end of 2022.

Zhao, also known as ‘CZ’ made this revelation in an interview with Blomberg and claimed that Binance could spend more than $1 billion on investments and asset purchases, despite what appears to be a volatile crypto market.

Recall that Binance has also invested $325 million in 67 additional projects in recent times. Meanwhile, the VC division of Binance has made several investments in Aptos, the firm started by former Meta employees.

While fellow crypto firm CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has embarked on purchasing assets from prominent distressed lenders, Zhao responded to a question about buying crypto lenders by saying that;

“Many of them, they just take a user’s money and give it to somebody else. There’s not a lot of intrinsic value. In that case, what’s to acquire? We want to see real products that people use.”

Binance Focuses on DeFi and NFT Protocols

Binance is focused on addressing persistent problems in the market, like regulatory tightening and software attacks. Recall that the exchange’s Binance Coin was used by online launderers to steal the equivalent of $568 million earlier this week.

The firm’s CEO claims that Binance has been investing heavily in NFT, fan tokens, and traditional payment service providers. While also stating that Binance has remained economically viable despite the prices of most digital assets being down more than 50% this year.

Again, Zhao added that Binance might venture into the acquisition of minority stakes in traditional eCommerce and gaming companies. More so, Binance has an additional $7 billion fund specifically for investing in deals, and it has a 30-plus member team focused on mergers and acquisitions and lead by its co-founder, Yi He.

The CEO reiterated that as a result of the bear market, the firm will continue to look out for other investment opportunities while taking cognizance of the risk and pain involved.

Binance Labs Invests in AltLayer, KiloEx, Kinza, and Sleepless AI as Part of the MVB Program

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has announced its investment in four top-performing projects from the sixth season of its Most Valuable Builder (MVB) program. The announcement was made on Binance’s official blog, and the investment is aimed at growing the BNB Chain ecosystem.

The four projects selected for investment are:

1. AltLayer: An open and decentralized protocol for developers to launch application-tailored rollups. It offers a no-code Rollups-as-a-Service dashboard that allows customized rollups with fraud/zk proofs at speed.

2. KiloEx: Building the next generation of user-friendly perpetual DEX focused on risk management and capital efficiency. It offers lightning-fast trades and an intuitive trading experience.

3. Kinza: A robust lending protocol that focuses on security and aims to create the best on-chain money market. It features Real Yield that employs a dynamic interest rate curve, generating revenue from interest for the protocol and lenders.

4. Sleepless AI: An AI blockchain-based virtual companion game utilizing AIGC and LLMs to create rich story-based gameplay and evolving interactions with characters.

These projects are building across various sectors including DeFi, infrastructure, and Web3 gaming.

Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs, commented on the investment, stating: “At Binance Labs, our vision is to empower and back early-stage founders who are committed to building long-term innovative projects. Through the MVB Program, we identified four high-performing projects for investment across various sectors. We look forward to seeing these projects’ continued growth and positive contribution to the wider Web3 ecosystem.”

The sixth season of the MVB Program concluded in June 2023. It received over 1,400 applications, with 53% of applicants based in North America and Europe, and 36% based in APAC. The program’s highly selective process admitted less than 1% of the total applicant pool.

Since 2018, Binance Labs has invested in more than 200 projects across six continents with $9 billion in total assets and a 1260% rate of return on investment. It has also incubated more than 50 projects native to Web3, including Polygon, Perpetual Protocol, and Dune Analytics.

BNB Chain is a decentralized blockchain powered by BNB. It has processed 3 billion transactions to date from 200 million unique addresses. The ecosystem has more than 1,400 active dApps across multiple categories, such as DeFi, Metaverse, blockchain games, NFT, and more.

The investment in these four projects by Binance Labs signifies a strong commitment to supporting innovation and meaningful use cases within the Web3 industry. It also reflects Binance Labs’ dedication to incubating and supporting high-potential projects that contribute to the sustainability and scalability of the Web3 ecosystem. Applications for the new season of the Binance Labs Incubation Program are open until August 15th, 2023.

Binance Labs Invests in AltLayer, a Leading Decentralized Rollups-as-a-Service Provider

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has announced a strategic investment in AltLayer, a leading decentralized Rollups-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider for Web3 applications, as of August 9, 2023.

Investment Details and AltLayer’s Vision

The investment aims to support AltLayer’s innovative approach to facilitating the launch of application-tailored rollups via its core network called the Beacon Layer. Nicola W., Investment Director at Binance Labs, stated, “Application-tailored rollups offer the security of Layer 1s and the customizability of appchains. However, a common issue with rollups today is that they mostly operate with centralized sequencers and create fragmented liquidity and userbase. We found AltLayer’s approach to facilitating the launch of application-tailored rollups via Beacon Layer an inspired take.”

Rollups are a Layer 2 scaling solution that bundles up transaction data and transfers it off the main chain (or Layer 1 blockchain). Transaction execution is performed off-chain, while assets are held in an on-chain smart contract. The transaction data is sent back to the main blockchain upon completion. Rollups increase transaction efficiency in terms of throughput, allowing a blockchain to process more transactions within a certain timeframe. There are two types of rollups: optimistic rollups, which use a fraud-proving scheme, and zero-knowledge rollups (zk-rollups), which use zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions. Both types aim to enable high throughput and lower costs.

Optimistic Rollups are implemented by projects like Optimism ($OP) and Arbitrum ($ARB), focusing on increasing Ethereum’s transaction throughput using fraud-proving schemes. Zero-Knowledge Rollups (zk-Rollups) are used by zkSync, StarkWare, and Hermes Network to enhance scalability and privacy through zero-knowledge proofs.

AltLayer’s protocol is designed for a multi-chain and multi-VM world, with default support for EVM/WASM. It functions as a modular and pluggable scaling solution for all compatible chains. The company offers a no-code Rollups-as-a-Service launchpad that enables users to create a customized rollup within 2 minutes.

AltLayer’s Collaboration and Products

AltLayer has collaborated with industry leaders like EigenLayer, Espresso, Celestia, Double Jump, Arbitrum, Linea, and Jump to build on rollup usability. The company’s Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution provider offers products that fast-track the deployment of highly scalable decentralized applications. Most recently, AltLayer launched a no-code dashboard that enables users to spin up a customized rollup within 2 minutes.

Dr. Yaoqi Jia, CEO, AltLayer, expressed optimism about the investment, saying, “The rollup ecosystem is promising, and needs more eyes on it to flourish and expand. We’re honored to have the strategic investment from Binance Labs, and look forward to strengthening the rollup world with their support.”

About Binance Labs

Binance Labs, as the venture capital arm and accelerator of Binance, has grown to be worth over $9 billion. Its portfolio covers 200 projects from over 25 countries across six continents, with a return on investment rate of over 10X. Fifty of Binance Labs’ portfolio companies are projects that have gone through their incubation programs.

Binance Labs has been actively investing in various projects despite regulatory pressures and pessimistic market expectations.

On August 8, 2023, Web3 startup zkPass raised $2.5 million in a seed round, with Binance Labs leading the investment, alongside OKX and other participants.

On August 4, 2023, Binance Labs announced investments in AltLayer, KiloEx, Kinza, and Sleepless AI as part of their MVB (Most Valuable Builder) Program.

Additionally, on July 20, 2023, Binance Labs has invested $10 million in DeFi lender Radiant (RDNT), a protocol operating on the Arbitrum network.

Binance Labs Funds Delphinus Lab's zkWASM VM for Web3 Evolution

Binance Labs, the esteemed venture capital division of Binance with a valuation surpassing $9 billion, has announced a strategic investment in Delphinus Lab. This collaboration underscores the rising significance of the zkWASM domain, where Delphinus Lab has made notable strides by launching the pioneering open-source zkWASM virtual machine.

At the heart of this innovation lies the amalgamation of two groundbreaking technologies. Firstly, “zk” stands for zero-knowledge proofs, a sophisticated cryptographic method that ensures data privacy by allowing one party to prove knowledge of specific information without revealing the actual data. Secondly, “WASM” represents WebAssembly, a cutting-edge binary instruction format. Designed to run code at near-native speeds in web environments, WASM has revolutionized the way developers approach web-based applications.

Together, the integration of zk and WASM in the zkWASM virtual machine offers a platform that champions both security and efficiency. This synergy is poised to redefine the landscape of decentralized applications, ensuring they are not only robust and fast but also prioritize user privacy.

Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and a leading figure in the crypto space, expressed his optimism regarding this partnership. He highlighted the transformative potential of Delphinus Lab’s zkWASM implementation, emphasizing its capacity to attract a new generation of Web2 developers into the evolving Web3 ecosystem. He further commented on the pivotal role such innovations play in broadening the acceptance and adoption of Web3 applications among developers and end-users alike.

The capital infusion from Binance Labs is earmarked to bolster the continued development and expansion of Delphinus Lab’s zkWASM Hub. This state-of-the-art platform is designed to streamline the deployment of applications, offering automated proving and batching services that cater to the diverse needs of developers. Moreover, the platform’s adaptability ensures seamless integration with various applications, further simplifying the development process.

Sinka Gao, the visionary CEO of Delphinus Lab, shared insights into the platform’s objectives. He emphasized the zkWASM Hub’s role as a bridge, merging the robust features of Web2 with the decentralized, trustless ethos of Web3. Gao expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership with Binance Labs, anticipating a surge in the adoption of WASM-based applications in the near future.

In an era where the lines between Web2 and Web3 are blurring, collaborations like these underscore the industry’s commitment to innovation, user privacy, and the seamless integration of technologies. As Binance Labs and Delphinus Lab join forces, the digital landscape awaits the next wave of decentralized applications powered by zkWASM.