Binance founder CZ's YZi Labs leads $16 million investment in token distribution platform Sign: Fortune

Quick Take

  • YZi Labs led a $16 million investment in Sign, an on-chain infrastructure for token distribution, according to a report.
  • YZi Labs announced its rebranding from Binance Labs earlier this month, with CZ playing a “pivotal role.”

YZi Labs, the venture capital firm formerly Binance Labs, announced it led an investment in on-chain token distribution infrastructure provider Sign, its first since the rebrand.

According to Fortune, YZi Labs’ funding round was worth $16 million, with other participants including Altos Ventures, HackVC and Amber Ventures.  

Sign, founded in 2021, is a platform that aims to develop a more transparent way for users and AI agents to receive crypto tokens. It offers various services, such as EthSign for signing contracts, TokenTable for managing digital tokens, and Sign Protocol for verifying information on the blockchain.

“Sign’s vision for mass Web3 onboarding aligns with YZi Labs’ commitment to pushing the boundaries of transformative innovation and driving innovation across the Web3 ecosystem and beyond,” said Nicola Wang, Investment Director at YZi Labs, in a press release.

The Block has reached out to YZi Labs for further comments.

CZ's return

Meanwhile, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reportedly rebranded Binance Labs into YZi Labs last week, following the end of his four-month prison sentence in September. 

While CZ has stepped down from his position running Binance's centralized exchange, YZi Labs said he will continue to have a “pivotal role” in investment activities.

"Rebranding to YZi Labs is more than a name change—it signifies an expanded vision as we broaden our horizons to include transformative sectors like AI and biotech," CZ said in last week’s announcement of the rebrand.

YZi Labs has over 250 projects in its portfolio, having invested in Sky Mavis, LayerZero, Aptos Labs and Polygon. It manages approximately $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Update: Clarified that YZi led the investment instead of providing the full funding amount.


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About Author

Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.

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