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It's been almost four months since Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was dethroned at Binance, making way for his ex-MAS successor, Richard Teng. But as CZ patiently awaits his sentencing, what exactly has Teng been up to as Binance CEO?
Until now, Teng's moves have been relatively silent, which is surprising considering the hot water Binance continues to find itself in. Just last week, Nigeria revealed two Binance executives were arrested as it accused the exchange of crashing its national currency.
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Additionally, a US federal judge forced CZ to surrender his passport. Nonetheless, the company has been powering on, busying itself with making crucial products such as Binance perfumes.
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But while all this has been unfolding, what of its CEO? It has now been discovered that Teng quietly spun off its $10 billion venture capital arm, Binance Labs. Teng made the move in February.
Staff working for Binance Labs now have separate contracts from those at the exchange.
We’re not part of the Binance group,” said Binance Labs Investment Director Alex Odagiu, adding that the VC arm licenses Binance's brand.
“Our primary goal is to identify projects and invest in them and this has not changed,” Odagiu said. “It’s been our focus for the most part since the inception of Binance Labs, which we started as a team in 2018.”
The Binance Labs website declares it is “an independent venture and not part of the Binance Group nor is it involved in any of the businesses operated by the Binance Group (including but not limited to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange).”
Yi He, who co-founded Binance with CZ leads Binance Labs. The VC operation is mostly funded by Binance's profits and serves as an early-stage investor in over 250 crypto projects including Sky Mavis, Aptos Labs, Polygon, and The Sandbox. Its assets are worth over $10 billion.
Aside from divorcing Binance from Binance Labs, Teng has also been busy eyeing Bitcoin. According to the CEO, the world's biggest crypto could rise above $80,000.
Speaking at an event on Sunday, Teng said, “We’re just getting started.” He had previously estimated that Bitcoin would end 2024 at $80,000 but he now sees it exceeding that “with supply reducing and demand continuing to come through.”
However, he warned that the rally won't be a "straight line" but volatility could be good for the market. He pointed specifically towards the inflows in Bitcoin ETFs since their approvals, adding that more family offices are expected to increase their allocations in such products. Bitcoin's price has risen 155.44% over the past six months.
