Binance Labs, the $10 billion venture capital and incubation arm of the crypto exchange Binance, has made its first foray into the decentralized science sector with an undisclosed investment in BIO Protocol.
“BIO can be thought of as a Y Combinator for onchain Science,” Binance Labs explained in a statement shared with The Block. It is designed to change how early-stage scientific research is financed and commercialized using blockchain technology.
In contrast to the current system, which relies on centralized bodies for research and funding, decentralized science or DeSci aims to source research investment through crowdfunding initiatives and decentralized ownership.
The BIO platform allows scientists, patients and investors globally to fund, develop and co-own new drugs through biotech DAOs, addressing gaps in traditional scientific funding, especially in areas like rare diseases, longevity and emerging health challenges.
BIO’s existing network comprises seven “BioDAOs” focused on funding projects researching cryopreservation, women’s health and psychedelics for mental health. The protocol’s next cohort includes projects working on cures for long COVID and rare diseases, as well as those developing quantum microscopes to observe quantum biological phenomena, the team said.
With the fresh capital in place, the protocol plans to expand its ecosystem further, providing seed funding for new BioDAOs and offering community and tokenomics support. The project’s ultimate goal is to create autonomous infrastructure for scientific funding driven by AI, drug design and open-source computational biology.
"BIO Protocol represents a significant step forward in DeSci by merging biotechnology and DeFi,” Binance Labs Investment Director Andy Chang said. “We are dedicated to unlocking groundbreaking advancements that drive long-term, real-world impact by supporting projects building meaningful technology — an approach that closely aligns with our investment in BIO."
Binance Labs has actively funded several crypto projects in recent months, including announcing investments in bitcoin liquid staking platform Lombard and ZKsync elastic chain Sophon in October, as well as Solana staking protocol Solayer in August.
BIO was founded by key members of VitaDAO — a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to funding and advancing early-stage longevity research backed by the venture arm of global pharmaceutical firm Pfizer.
VitaDAO launched its first biotech firm, Matrix Biosciences, in October 2023 following a community vote approving a collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Aging Research Center co-chair Dr. Vera Gorbunova. An initial tranche of $300,000 was made available for preclinical studies testing novel hyaluronic acid-based compounds found in long-living cancer-resistant naked mole rats.
ResearchHub — a startup co-founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong that rewards scientists in cryptocurrency for publishing content — is another project working on DeSci initiatives, having raised $5 million in a June 2023 funding round. ResearchHub argues that scientific research is too important to be hidden behind paywalls and advocates for an open-source software-style model that fosters collaboration and rewards valuable contributions in an “academic town square.”
Recently, venture capital firm a16z also made its move into the DeSci sector, leading a $5 million seed round investment in the “decentralized biobank” and Layer 2 network AminoChain — a project looking to bring “ownership, transparency and consent” into the field of medical data collection using blockchain technology.
“Science drives human progress, but we've trapped our brightest minds in an endless funding maze — they spend 80% of their time writing grants instead of solving humanity's greatest challenges,” BIO Protocol founder Paul Kohlhaas said. “Binance Labs’ support will help shatter this broken system, catalyzing patient-driven research at a scale that was impossible until now.”
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
