Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said in an interview with Bloomberg that the leading global crypto exchange has over $1 billion to deploy on acquisitions and investments amid the bear market.
CZ disclosed that the funds would be committed to supporting decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and non-fungible token (NFTs) projects to help accelerate the adoption of crypto assets.
Binance Has Invested $325M This Year
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As a market leader, Binance has invested $325 million in 67 projects this year, excluding the $500 million the exchange used to support Elon Musk in his $44 million Twitter acquisition. In contrast, the company only invested $140 million in 73 projects last year.
In June, Binance Labs, the investment arm of the exchange, launched a $500 million fund to support promising Web 3 projects and start-up firms with great potential.
Binance to Invest in Real Products
Despite the $325 million investment, CZ said the company plans to spend another $1 billion on “real products that people use.” He noted that the exchange would not consider financially distressed firms, referring to crypto lenders such as Voyager Digital and Celsius Network that have experienced severe setbacks since the market crash in May. Changpeng Zhao said;
We did look at a lot of lenders in recent months because that’s where all the issues are. Many of them 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.
The Binance CEO also revealed that the exchange might be interested in investing in traditional e-commerce and gaming companies. The exchange revealed earlier this year that it is looking to expand its business offerings outside the crypto space by investing in different projects in every economic sector.
Meanwhile, unlike Binance, which is focused on investing in real products, its major rival, Sam Bankman Fried’s FTX, has been bailing out plagued firms since the market turbulence.
During the peak of the Crypto winter, FTX CEO disclosed that the company still had around $1 billion to buy out these firms and has since become crypto’s white knight in time of need, in November FTX and Alameda Research filed for Chapter 12 Bankruptcy with over $8B of Customers Assets stacked on the platform.
“SBF vs CZ: The Epic Showdown”; CZ wrote:
We don’t focus on competitors because it’s a waste of time and resources when the industry has only touched 6% of the population. We want multiple exchanges, multiple blockchains, multiple wallets, etc, to co-exist in the ecosystem.
“CZ wants to be the savior of crypto.”
Crypto doesn’t need saving. Crypto is fine. It’s the beauty of decentralization. We are just part of it. We want to help other good projects that may be in a cash crunch because of recent events. It’s in our collective best interest.