Binance Labs has become an independent venture capital arm, after severing ties with Binance exchange.

The independent VC fund’s portfolio is now worth over $10 billion, covering over 250 projects from over 25 countries, with an over 14x return on investment rate, according to a March 12 blog post by Binance Labs.

The arm seeks to invest in early-stage Web3 projects and offer support including one-to-one mentorship and access to resources in the wider Binance ecosystem

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, quietly created the independent fund earlier this year. Binance Labs staff have separate contracts from Binance exchange employees.

The independent VC fund is looking to invest in more Web3 projects. Founders can apply for funding through the Binance Labs Season 7 Incubation program until April 15, 2024.

Binance Labs aims to support promising early-stage founders, according to Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, who wrote in an announcement:

“Our support extends across all chains and ecosystems for projects that are committed to long-term development across various sectors. We look forward to seeing each project’s continued growth and contribution to the Web3 ecosystem.”

Binance Labs’ previous round of investments, season six, received hundreds of applications with a 3% admission rate. Only seven promising projects received funding by the end of the round.

These notable projects also included derivative infrastructure provider Ethena, which became the highest-earning decentralized application (DApp) after breaching $6.8 million in daily cumulative revenue in the week ending March 8.

Ethena Labs launched its USDe synthetic dollar on the public mainnet on Feb. 19, causing widespread concern among investors, as the Ethereum-based synthetic dollar launched with a 27.6% annual percentage yield (APY).

Guy Young, the founder of Ethena Labs, has dispelled the rumors, explaining that USDe’s yield is publicly verifiable, as it is generated via staking returns and shorting Ether perpetual future contracts.

Ethena currently offers a 60.9% yield on its USDe synthetic dollar to over 53,000 users, according to its homepage. The project holds over $1.1 billion in total value locked.

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