CZ’s $10B Fund YZi Labs Weighs Opening Doors to Outside Investors
SEC interest and growing demand push Zhao’s investment arm toward external capital
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s $10 billion venture firm YZi Labs is considering taking in money from external investors as appetite for crypto-focused funds grows and US regulators adopt a more open stance under the Trump administration.
YZi Labs, which manages Zhao’s personal wealth along with capital from early Binance insiders like Yi He, briefly accepted $300 million in outside funds in 2022 before returning part of it due to the scale of its holdings. Now, according to fund head Ella Zhang, the timing may be shifting. “We will eventually consider turning it into an external-facing fund. We just think it’s not there yet,” she told the Financial Times.
The fund’s portfolio spans more than 230 projects, including Aptos Labs, Polygon, 1inch Network, Sky Mavis, as well as infrastructure firms like LayerZero, Mysten Labs, and CertiK, according to Dealroom data.
SEC takes closer look at YZi-backed startups
Zhang revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission recently requested a private demo of YZi Labs portfolio companies after missing the firm’s New York Stock Exchange demo day — a move interpreted as a sign of warming regulatory attitudes toward crypto.
“Paul Atkins and other commissioners, they are very open-minded,” Zhang said, noting Atkins’ leadership of the SEC since April 2025.
Zhao, who stepped down from Binance after pleading guilty to AML violations and serving a four-month prison term, remains the exchange’s largest shareholder. He is currently seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
Growing competition in crypto venture space
If YZi Labs moves forward, it would join a wave of crypto-native firms opening up to institutional money. In June, Galaxy Digital closed its first externally backed venture fund with $175 million, exceeding its $150 million target.
Meanwhile, industry voices like analyst Willy Woo have argued that Bitcoin infrastructure investments may now offer greater upside than Bitcoin itself, with potential returns of 100–1,000x in early-stage startups.
