CZ–backed YZi Labs invests $100 million into Hash Global's BNB fund

YZi Labs, the investment firm backed by Binance co-founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, has invested $100 million in Hash Global's BNB fund.

Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, said "BNB has become a foundational utility asset with attractive yield, powering the future of financial infrastructure," adding her firm invites "more traditional capital" to also participate in BNB's "structural returns and long-term growth."

Launched in June, Hash Global's BNB fund had delivered a 32.5% return by the end of August, according to YZI Labs. Holding BNB is widely seen as serving as a proxy bet on Binance, considered the world's largest spot cryptocurrency exchange by volume.

BNB, the native token of the Binance ecosystem, is the world's fourth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of approximately $85 billion. It was changing hands at $623.55 as of 9:56 a.m. ET, according to The Block's price page.

"BNB chain is one of the world's largest blockchain networks, boasting over 5 million daily active users and 760 million unique addresses," Hash Global said Tuesday. "Participation in the fund enables institutions not only to allocate to BNB through an institutional-grade structure, but also to enter into long-term ecosystem collaboration through capital alignment."

YZi Labs is the investment firm closely tied to Zhao and fellow Binance co-founder Yi He. Its investments are focused on web3, artificial intelligence, and biotech.

Founded in 2018, Hash Global "manages multiple primary and secondary market funds" and was one of the earliest validators on BNB Chain.