Binance Labs has raised $500 million in funding to focus on web3 and blockchain adoption. What do you think of this?

Despite recent volatility, venture capital firms continue to deploy and raise capital for crypto markets, with Binance Labs closing a $500 million investment fund to focus on web3 and blockchain technology adoption.

"We really see the fund as another step in terms of us being able to build our mission statement," Ken Li, Binance Labs' executive director of investments and M&A, told TechCrunch.

According to the company, the fund was supported by DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital, as well as family offices and corporations as limited partners.

Binance Labs is the venture capital and accelerator arm of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume in the world. According to Li, the $500 million fund will invest in projects at three stages: pre-seed or incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth.

"We'd like to partner with more founders across more geographies and sectors, not just through the fund, but also through the broader Binance ecosystem," Li said. "Ultimately, all of the crypto adoption will come from great founders."

Since 2018, it has invested in over 170 projects in over 25 countries, including 1inch, a decentralized finance and exchange aggregator; Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game; and The Sandbox and Polygon, a decentralized Ethereum-focused layer-2 scaling platform and Concordium, a transfer network with low fees, fast speed and strong security.

The fund also intends to set aside capital for sectors that "haven't even been defined yet," according to Li.

"We want to be ready to invest in those sectors as they emerge," Li said. Adoption of gaming and DeFi, for example, can be quite rapid. On the consumer side, there is DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and the metaverse, but there are also undefined sectors for which Binance wishes to be prepared.

According to Li, its incubator program is web3-focused but comparable to a Web 2.0 accelerator like Y Combinator. Each program is run in batches or seasons, and it is currently in "season four," with 14 projects chosen from over 500 applications, according to Li.

While capital is beneficial to founders, it may not be the most important factor, according to Li. "Supporting founders is more important than bringing capital to market."

A number of crypto funds have recently launched, including Andreessen Horowitz's latest — and largest — $4.5 billion megafund, as well as other multibillion-dollar funds.

According to its managing partner, Ling Zhang, who was previously the vice president of M&A and investments at Binance, Old Fashion Research launched a $100 million venture fund last week to focus on the metaverse and increasing crypto adoption in emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa.

Despite the fact that crypto markets are in rough waters, more funds have been deployed into the space this year to date than in 2021.

"Regardless of market conditions," Li stated, "we will support founders."

According to PitchBook data, approximately $2 billion in capital was raised across 164 deals in the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in May, with approximately $15 billion in total capital raised this year to date, up from nearly $12 billion during the same period in 2021. This demonstrates that, despite bearish market sentiments, 2022 remains a better year for capital investments in cryptocurrency.

"Ultimately, our perspective is business as usual," Li said, adding that "we'll continue to partner with founders who have the most promise and long-term focus to bring projects to market sustainably."

"We believe that will occur regardless of macroeconomic conditions, particularly because one of the stages in which we partner with founders is so early, so there will always be new projects and new founders who want to enter the space."