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YZi Labs, the $10 billion venture firm spun out of Binance, is considering allowing external investors into its fund, potentially shifting from a private crypto-backed family office into a public-facing investment vehicle, according to an interview with the Financial Times.
What’s the Scoop?
- Opening the gates: Head of YZi Labs Ella Zhang confirmed the firm is exploring the idea of taking in outside capital, telling the FT, “[w]e will eventually consider turning it into an external-facing fund.”
- CZ ties remain central: YZi Labs manages the fortune of
Binance co-founder CZ, as well as funds from early Binance executives like Yi He. CZ no longer holds an active role at Binance following his 2023 guilty plea and 2024 prison sentence tied to money laundering and compliance violations. - Regulatory implications: Should YZi Labs accept U.S. investors, it could draw heightened scrutiny from regulators. However, Zhang noted that the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly posture has encouraged some founders to return to the U.S.
- Recent bets: YZi has recently backed Ethena Labs, crypto treasury firms B Strategy and CEA Industries, and continued investing in names like Polygon, Mysten Labs, 1inch, Aptos, and LayerZero.
Bankless Take:
CZ himself may have rejected all notions that YZi Labs is seeking outside money, but the prospect is far from outlandish when considering the torrent of crypto company IPOs and private funding rounds in recent months.
Complete false news from FT, with fake/wrong/made-up info and negative narratives. This is just from what I gathered on social media, I did not even read the FT article. No subscription. 🤷♀️
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 23, 2025
As far as I know:
YZiLabs is not raising external fund.
There is no demo. WTF is a demo… https://t.co/muO09pX8Bz
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