Report: Top 5 Binance Labs Investments in 2023

Summary

• Binance Labs, committed to shaping the future of decentralized technologies has invested in a number of innovative projects in the blockchain space in 2023.
• Some of these projects include Xterio, Radiant Capital, Helio Protocol, Curve DAO, and Delphinus Lab.

Steering the Innovation

In what would be a turbulent year for the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and innovation incubator of Binance, has continued to play a pivotal role in fostering innovative projects within the blockchain space. Through a multi-faceted approach encompassing funding, mentorship, and strategic partnerships, Binance Labs continues to shape the future of decentralized technologies. 

In this report, we unveil five of the most exciting investments made by Binance Labs in 2023, shedding light on the projects that are poised to make significant contributions to the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain and cryptocurrency in the coming years.

Xterio

Earlier in July, Binance Labs invested $15 million in Xterio, a Web3 game platform, in a strategic move to revolutionize the gaming industry. Xterio, known for bridging the gap between free-to-play and on-chain gaming, is set to leverage this funding for robust game and tech development, as well as the launch of its tokens.  Xterio boasts an impressive roster of in-house and third-party games under development. With a focus on game and tech advancement, including AI integration, Xterio seeks to elevate the gaming experience.

Notably, Xterio's leadership comprises industry veterans from tech and entertainment giants like FunPlus, Ubisoft, and NetEase, ensuring a wealth of expertise. The strategic alliance with Binance Labs positions Xterio for accelerated growth, with its token seamlessly integrating into the BNB Chain ecosystem. This funding injection is poised to accelerate the development of Xterio's incubated games, marking a significant stride towards enriching the Web3 gaming distribution platform.

Radiant Capital

Among Binance Labs' top portfolio companies in 2023 is Radiant Capital, a project built atop Binance Labs' portfolio company LayerZero Labs. Focused on overcoming liquidity fragmentation in the DeFi landscape, Radiant is a lending and borrowing protocol that facilitates seamless asset deposit and borrowing across more than 20 different chains. The project's commitment to a chain-agnostic and user-centric approach aligns with Binance Labs' vision for the future of DeFi.

Notably, Radiant has gained significant traction throughout 2023, achieving the top spot as the leading lending protocol on Arbitrum by Total Value Locked (TVL) and securing the fifth position among DeFi protocols on the BNB Chain.

The strategic funding will fuel Radiant's ambitious expansion plans which include enhancing oracle support, broadening collateral options, deploying on the Ethereum mainnet, enabling cross-chain liquidations, supporting dual emissions, abstracted repayments, and incorporating full LayerZero messaging support. With these developments, Radiant aims to streamline DeFi processes, ushering in the onboarding of the next 100 million users into the decentralized finance ecosystem.

Helio Protocol

DeFi protocol Helio was another platform to receive a substantial $10 million in funding from Binance Labs in August. Helio Protocol, known for its native stablecoin, HAY, has seamlessly integrated over-collateralized lending, staking-as-a-service (StaaS), and LSDfi infrastructure, boasting an impressive $300 million in Total Value Locked (TVL).

Prior to Binance Labs' investment, Helio acquired Synclub in a bid to enhance capital efficiency. The synergy unlocked new dimensions for HAY by incorporating additional Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) as collateral, improving the overall staking experience for users. The upgrade also introduced new collateral conversions and withdrawal opportunities for users. 

The $10 million injection from Binance Labs will propel Helio Protocol's expansion, focusing on team growth, diversification of collateral across liquid staking providers, and fortifying support for multi-chain scalability. 

Curve DAO

Barely two weeks after Curve Finance was exploited for over $24 million, Binance Labs strategically allocated a significant $5 million investment in Curve DAO Token (CRV).

As the largest stableswap and second-largest decentralized exchange (DEX), Curve boasts a $2.4 billion total value locked (TVL) and $215 million daily volume. This investment reinforces Binance Labs' commitment to shaping the future of DeFi by collaborating with Curve. CRV, the Ethereum-based utility token, fuels the Curve ecosystem, enabling seamless ERC-20 token exchange with low fees and slippage. The partnership extends Curve's operations to BNB Chain, leveraging speed and cost advantages, thus contributing to the burgeoning growth of the BNB Chain DeFi ecosystem.

Delphinus Lab

Binance Labs has also invested in Delphinus Lab, an infrastructure provider that has built the first-known open-source zkWASM virtual machine reshaping the landscape of trustless computation. Delphinus Lab's innovative zkWASM technology empowers developers to craft zero-knowledge (ZK) applications in their preferred programming languages. By seamlessly integrating this innovation with WebAssembly (WASM), a collaborative effort of tech giants Google, Mozilla, Microsoft, and Apple, Delphinus Lab ensures enhanced security and privacy in applications. 

Binance Labs' investment will propel the ongoing development of Delphinus Lab's zkWASM Hub, offering automated proving and batching services for application workloads and a seamless pathway for developers to showcase their GitHub applications. 

Conclusion

Binance Labs continues to drive transformative change in the blockchain landscape, shaping the trajectory of decentralized advancements as evidenced by its strategic investments in groundbreaking projects throughout the year. From the efforts of Xterio in reshaping Web3 gaming to Radiant Capital's commitment to overcoming DeFi liquidity challenges, alongside Helio Protocol's innovative approach to stablecoin dynamics, Binance Labs continues to steer the course of decentralized technologies. As we anticipate the unfolding impact of these investments, Binance Labs remains at the forefront of shaping a dynamic and resilient blockchain ecosystem.