Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched a $1 billion (nearly R15 billion) growth fund in support of the Binance Smart Chain blockchain, with the goal of helping to accelerate the adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology.
About half of the funds will be directed toward investments in areas such as gaming, virtual reality and blockchain-based financial services, according to a statement from Binance. Of the remainder, about $300 million will go to a builder programme and $100 million each will be steered toward liquidity incentives and talent development.
Binance Smart Chain itself has a global community of developers and investors, and it was started by the Binance Chain community. Binance supports the blockchain through investments.
“With the $1 billion initiative, our focus will be widened to building cross-chain and multi-chain infrastructures integrated with different types of blockchains,” Gwendolyn Regina, investment director of the BSC Accelerator Fund, said in the statement.
Binance has been a target of regulators in numerous countries including the US, South Africa and Singapore in recent months as the crypto ecosystem reached a size that attracted interest from officials, though Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has said it’s pivoting to a focus on compliance and regulation to address those concerns.
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.
