Binance puts assets under management by its venture arm at $9 billion as of end-Q1 2023

The value of assets under management by Binance’s venture arm is estimated at $9 billion as of the end of Q1 2023. This was disclosed by The Block in an interview with Binance’s chief business officer Ibo Ling.

According to him, lawsuit by the CFTC against the group of companies and its head Changpeng Zhao “does not affect” the operations of Binance Labs. He noted that since August 2022 the volume of assets under management by the division has grown by 20%. The funds have been invested in more than 200 projects — 50 of which are graduates of the internal incubator.

Ling said the venture arm of the exchange is highly profitable. He estimated that the average project return is more than ten times the invested capital.

“We buy and hold; that has been the strategy for the past few years. With rare exceptions, we have not exited the business,” he added.

According to The Block, amid pressure from U.S. regulators Binance Labs has reduced deal activity in the region.

Ling also spoke about the asset-listing process at Binance. He emphasised that this part of the business is kept separate from other activities of the exchange.

“The listing-related part of the business we certainly keep separate from others, including those linked to Labs and BNB Chain […]. The main focus is on good projects, and whether there are investments from Labs or tie-ins with BNB, frankly speaking, does not matter,” he explained.

Ling does not consider a bear market harmful to the industry. In his words, during such periods weak projects leave the market, while strong players gain the opportunity to attract talented professionals.

In November 2022 Binance Labs allocated $1 billion for a fund to revive the Web3 industry. The business director said that since then the structure has provided funding to 14 companies, with around 60 more candidates under consideration.

In April 2023, Binance.US withdrew its bid to acquire Voyager Digital.