Quick take:
- Genius Trading will use the funds to build out a private, high-velocity on-chain trading terminal.
- The investment aligns with YZi Labs’ strategy of backing infrastructure that delivers CEX-level speed, liquidity, and discretion while remaining fully user-owned.
- As part of the investment, Binance founder and leader of YZi Labs, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has joined Genius Trading as an advisor.
YZi Labs, an independent investment firm led by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has invested an 8-figure amount in cross-chain trading terminal Genius Trading.
Genius Trading is designed to aggregate execution across blockchains and decentralized venues, which is how it differs from decentralized exchange platforms. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate the development of its private, high-velocity on-chain trading terminal.
According to YZi Labs’ announcement on the X platform, the investment aligns with the investment firm’s strategy of backing infrastructure that delivers CEX-level speed, liquidity, and discretion while remaining fully user-owned. As part of the investment, CZ has joined Genius Trading as an advisor.
Genius Trading plans to consolidate trading across BNB Chain, Solana, Ethereum, and six other networks into a single venue where privacy and execution speed are prioritized.
“With CZ as an advisor, Genius embodies the core of YZi Labs’ investment thesis: backing infrastructure that fuses the speed, liquidity, and privacy of centralized exchanges (CEXs) without compromising on user ownership or decentralization,” the firm wrote.
In October, YZi Labs launched a $1 billion builder fund to back projects building on the BNB Chain. Blockchain infrastructure was one of the main categories listed among key focus segments.
“The funding is about alignment more than anything else; aligning with YZi Labs means we have the industry’s most thorough and well-resourced backer taking a meaningful swing at creating an ‘on-chain’ Binance, while focusing on what makes CEXs better than DEXs right now: privacy,” said Armaan Kalsi, Co-founder & CEO of Genius.
“I first met Armaan at the NYC Builder Bunker during a BNB Chain MVB demo. He has the distinct energy of a founder who’s going to win: sharp, articulate, and relentless. Even as a student building complex trading infrastructure, he had already secured an angel round from high-profile investors. I pulled him aside after his demo — and I knew we had to be part of his journey,” said Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs.
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