CZ: Binance to Invest in DeFi
- Binance plans to invest in DeFi, NFTs, and payment systems before the end of the year. The company’s investments could surpass the $1 billion mark.
- The trading platform spent $140 million across 73 projects in 2021 but has committed $325 million across 63 projects in 2022.
- Binance was one of the few crypto platforms to scale their hiring process amidst the bear market.
Binance has made several high-profile crypto investments since the year began. But a recent tweet from the company’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, showed that the trading platform could be set for more groundbreaking feats, especially in the DeFi world. Zhao, who is known to his followers as “CZ,” wrote in a tweet, “Binance is investing heavily in DeFi.”
Since its inception in 2017, Binance has moved from being a major player in the Asian crypto market to being the world’s leading crypto exchange, with over 350+ cryptocurrencies and 120 million users. The platform also boasts a $76 billion 24-hour trading volume and a healthy portfolio of investments.
While several projects have had to cut costs to survive the bear market, Binance remains one of the few stable crypto trading platforms. Rather than slow things down, the popular exchange has been working on improving its ties with world regulators as it aims to expand its reach to new regions and countries.
Some of the company’s investments have been outside of the crypto industry. Notably, Binance confirmed that it would support Elon Musk’s Twitter deal with $500 million. Sources claim the company has set aside another $200 million for the Forbes media organization.
Binance opted for a safer investment strategy since the bear market intensified. Rather than invest in crypto assets whose prices have seen a huge decline, Binance invested in other sectors of the market, such as NFTs and DeFi projects.
According to reports, Binance has committed $325 million to 67 projects. However, the company’s investment policy and details remain somewhat unclear to the public. Regardless, the bear market has not deterred the trading platform in its bid for expansion. Binance only spent $140 million across 73 projects in 2021 during the bull run.
Earlier this month, CZ told Bloomberg that Binance had more deals in the lineup before the year ends. The company reportedly prioritizes NFTs, fan tokens, DeFi, and traditional payment providers in its investment scheme. Binance boss and billionaire was quoted as saying,
DeFi works. NFTs are a lot more than selling pictures of monkeys. NFT use cases have not largely been well built – NFTs for tickets, for university degrees. I think the technology will stay.
Binance now has a team of around 30 dedicated to mergers and acquisitions and a $7 billion fund investing in deals. According to CZ, the trading platform could purchase minority stakes in gaming and conventional e-commerce businesses in the coming months.