After his arrest in 2024, the founder of Binance was banned from running the exchange again, although he still has a share as a partner. Understand the case below.
CZ Binance founder
A publication that went unnoticed by many at the turn of 2024 to 2025 has to do with Binance and its founder, CZ, who may be back on the market.
According to the exchange’s investment arm, Binance Labs, “CZ is back” in action and ready to meet with companies in the sector.
In addition, he can get involved in meetings with new startups and others already existing in the market, with the availability of meetings even on a personal level.
Binance Labs says CZ is back in action. Photo/X.
It is worth remembering that 2024 was not an easy year for CZ, who had to serve a few months in a US prison on fraud charges in the country. Now, after serving his sentence, he will be able to get back more involved with his business and partners, since as the founder of Binance, he still holds his shares in the largest brokerage on the market.
In addition to CZ's return, Binance Labs has invested in seven Bitcoin ecosystem projects in 2024
Binance Labs' publication on the last day of 2024 commented on CZ's return to the market. This is because the main intention was to publicize the investments made in the cryptocurrency market.
According to the information released, the brokerage’s investment arm announced investments in 46 projects in the year. “Of the 46 deals, 10 fall into DeFi, 7 into AI, 7 into the BTC ecosystem, 4 into Restaking, 3 into Gaming, 2 into ZK, 2 into RWA, and 2 into consumer applications. The remaining investments spanned infrastructure — from security to wallet and chain abstraction — and emerging sectors such as the Move ecosystem and DeSci,” the publication says.
For 2025, Binance Labs, which intends to change its name soon, is closely following Donald Trump's new government.
“The Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance is expected to foster a more favorable regulatory environment. This shift will likely bolster institutional interest and investment in the crypto space, contributing to the maturation of the industry and establishing a stronger foundation built on solid fundamentals.”
“We are keeping an eye on the cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and biotechnology markets,” says Binance Labs
Binance Labs’ upcoming investments in tech startups are expected to focus on the cryptocurrency market, but will expand to artificial intelligence and biotechnology companies as well. According to a public explanation, the exchange expects to see a connection between these three markets, which it considers promising.
As a prediction, Binance Labs also highlights that privacy solutions and even cryptocurrency games could resurface in 2025. Finally, the broker indicated that it does not only invest in businesses linked to the BNB Chain, but also in Ethereum and other networks.