Binance Labs secure 25 new investments amid market challenges in 2023

Binance Labs has revealed in a recent report that it made 25 new investments in 2023, a challenging year for the crypto industry. These investments primarily focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3 gaming, tooling and infrastructure. Through these investments, Binance aims to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of blockchain technology.

Within the DeFi sector, Binance Labs invested an undisclosed amount in lending and borrowing protocols Radiant Capital. It also allocated $5 million to support the integration of Curve DAO Token (CRV) with the BNB Chain. Moreover, it invested $10 million in decentralized protocol Helio Protocol for stablecoin lending and borrowing on the BNB Chain.

Let’s take a look back at our year in 2023! 🚀

We remained committed supporting early-stage founders with bold ideas, and resilient projects that are shaping the future of Web3.

Check out our year in investments👇https://t.co/xyyhL7iYjO pic.twitter.com/NN3o8Ez43y

— Binance Labs Fund (@BinanceLabs) January 17, 2024

In Web3 gaming, Binance Labs invested $15 million in platform and publisher Xterioled. Binance Labs also provided seed funding for GOMBLE — a South Korean developer focusing on developing blockchain-based casual games.

Binance Labs also committed investments in Arkham Token (ARKM) — the native token of the Arkham blockchain — to support “on-chain insights at scale across the blockchain ecosystem.”

In 2023, Binance encountered significant challenges such as market volatility and regulatory uncertainties. The company had to settle for $4.3 billion with U.S. regulators.

In November, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was accused of money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting and other violations in Seattle, forcing him to step down from his position. Consequently, Binance’s market shares declined by five percent, falling from 54.2 percent to 48.7 percent in 2023, according to TokenInsights’ findings.

Binance’s growth in 2023

Binance, through its subsidiary Binance Labs, has become a leader in supporting early-stage blockchain projects, providing funding, mentorship and resources to facilitate their growth.

Throughout the years, Binance has shown its commitment to advancing its Web3 infrastructure. With 170 million registered users and 431 tradable assets across 1785 pairs, Binance is a leading digital asset ecosystem. In 2023, its transaction volumes climbed by 71 percent, surpassing $77 billion. Meanwhile, its user base grew by 30 percent, adding 40 million more users compared to the previous year.

Binance Pay and Card saw an increase of 54 percent in their combined user base, with 3,500 new Pay merchants registering globally. Specifically, the number of active Binance Pay users surged by almost 70 percent to exceed 12 million.

“At Binance Pay, we are not just creating a product, we’re fostering a shift in global financial paradigms,” said Binance Pay global head Jonathan Lim.

The P2P platform now supports 970 payment methods and 112 fiat currencies, processing 18 percent more trades and serving 39 percent more users last year.

Meanwhile, Binance Earn now supports 362 assets, drawing 35 percent more users and recording a 16.8 percent growth in locked assets in 2023.

In November 2023, Binance introduced the Binance Web3 Wallet, offering users easy fund management and cross-chain token swaps. That year, Binance also invested $213 million to strengthen its compliance in 18 jurisdictions and collaborated with law enforcement to deal with illicit activities.

Binance’s regulatory liaison team handled almost 60,000 requests from law-enforcement agencies, offering 120 training sessions globally including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Binance’s Secure Fund of Assets for Users (SAFU) fund reached $1.2 billion, with its proof-of-stakes now supporting 31 assets.