YZi Labs —the investment company tied to Changpeng “CZ” Zhao— unveiled a $1 billion Builder Fund for the BNB ecosystem. That same day, BNB traded near $1,311, an all time high, with a market value of about $182 billion. The fund will reach founders, institutional investors and infrastructure builders on BNB Chain, according to YZi Labs.
YZi Labs describes the Builder Fund as a program to fund and speed up native BNB Chain projects, combining direct investment, grants and incubation residencies. The firm cites a user base above 460 million and offers operational help to startups, aiming to pair capital with hands-on support.
The program folds the Most Valuable Builder (MVB) accelerator into the Easy Residency platform and plans up to $500,000 in direct funding per project. As the launch document cited in coverage shows. The strategy spans DeFi, AI, tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA), DeSci, payments and Web3 infrastructure, signaling a broad focus on adoption and scale.
Context and impact for YZi Labs and BNB
CZ told reporters that claims of outside fundraising for YZi Labs are “completely false news”. Ella Zhang reportedly said the team will “eventually consider” external capital, creating a divergence in public messaging that could shape perceptions.
The operation produces effects that need watching: on adoption and liquidity, the fund may speed native launches on BNB Chain. Regarding institutional access, the self-funded structure and linked vehicles —such as the BNB Treasury Company mentioned— aim to draw institutions.
Acapital pool routed through YZi Labs raises questions about ecosystem reliance and decision centralization; and for communication and trust, open disagreement over possible outside capital may affect views on transparency.
The Builder Fund launch marks a clear operational move to widen activity on BNB Chain. The next step is the rollout of Easy Residency merged with the MVB accelerator and the first capital calls to chosen projects, including the first grants and direct rounds of up to $500,000 per project, as YZi Labs states.
