CZ says YZi Labs 'crypto winter bet may outperform the market

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng: The investments laid out by YZi Labs during the bear market are expected to be the best performers

On September 4, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) said that YZi Labs 'recent investments may become one of the company's best-performing projects because these capital deployments occur during a period of widespread downturn in the cryptocurrency market.

Summary of Core Views

• Zhao Changpeng pointed out that YZi Labs 'investments during the weak market may eventually become a top performer.
• YZi Labs manages more than $10 billion in assets and invests in Web3, artificial intelligence and biotechnology start-ups.
• RoboForce, a robot company recently led by YZi Labs, received US$52 million in financing, and AI payment agreement AEON raised US$8 million.
• Predict.fun received follow-up financing including Susquehanna Crypto after cumulative trading volume reached US$1.8 billion.
• TermMax received undisclosed investment after joining the EASY Residency project, and its total financing amount has exceeded US$8 million.

Counter-trend layout: Investment strategy based on market timing

Zhao Changpeng wrote: "I firmly believe that YZi Labs 'investments in the past few months will be the best performing projects because these investments were completed at the height of the encryption winter."

What needs to be clear is that this is Zhao Changpeng's personal opinion, not a verified performance result. As of now, neither Zhao Changpeng nor YZi Labs has announced the acquisition price, current valuation or return on investment data to support this forecast.

Publicly available YZi Labs investment projects in 2026 include: robot company RoboForce, digital asset custodian BitGo, prediction market Predict.fun, artificial intelligence payment protocol AEON, and fixed-rate lending platform TermMax. The specific amount of some of these transactions has not yet been disclosed.

YZi Labs 'background and strategic transformation

YZi Labs claims to be an investment vehicle focusing on Web3, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. The agency grew out of a rebranding by Binance Labs and currently manages more than $10 billion in assets.

Although YZi Labs operates independently of Binance, the capital it manages is related to Zhao Changpeng and Binance co-founder Yi He. The agency invests in companies at multiple stages of development and runs the EASY Residency Incubator program for early founders.

Previously, Zhao Changpeng once said that Web3 still accounts for 70% to 80% of YZi Labs 'investment portfolio. However, in recent years, the institution has increased its Exposure to connecting blockchain systems with artificial intelligence, robotics and institutional financial technology.

In May this year, Zhao Changpeng pointed out that YZi Labs is more inclined to invest in infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence rather than directly competing with well-funded AI model developers. This strategy is reflected in the agency's investments in robotics and autonomous payments.

The latest remarks link investment strategy to market timing. In the first half of 2026, crypto valuations came under pressure as Bitcoin and other digital assets traded well below previous peaks. As of September 6, based on current market data, Bitcoin is trading at approximately US$79,945. Although it has recovered from its low point in early 2026, it is still below the historical record. This recovery alone does not establish whether YZi Labs 'private equity investment has increased in value.

Analysis of Key Investment Projects

RoboForce: Largest Disclosure Financing

In March this year, YZi Labs led the investment in RoboForce's US$52 million financing round. The robot company said the oversubscribed deal brought its total financing amount to $67 million.

RoboForce is committed to developing physical AI systems for industrial work in industries such as solar energy, data center, manufacturing, mining and logistics. The company is building robots designed to perform labor-intensive tasks in harsh environments.

It is worth noting that US$52 million represents the total amount of the entire financing round, not YZi Labs 'single investment. Neither party disclosed the specific amount of capital provided by YZi Labs, RoboForce's valuation or the proportion of equity acquired.

In addition, RoboForce also said it has obtained letters of intent covering more than 11,000 robots. This figure represents the company's stated expected needs, rather than deliveries completed or revenue recognized.

Since RoboForce is primarily an industrial robots company, this investment is different from YZi Labs 'traditional blockchain portfolio. However, it is in line with Zhao Changpeng's established interest in investing in companies that supply infrastructure for artificial intelligence. Whether this investment becomes a leading performer will depend on RoboForce's ability to convert expected orders into commercial deployments. The financing announcement was not accompanied by independently audited revenue or return data.

BitGo and Predict.fun: Custody and Forecasting Market Infrastructure

YZi Labs also invested in BitGo before and after its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The specific amount and purchase terms were not disclosed.

The company said that as institutional capital enters the digital asset space, regulated custody infrastructure will become increasingly important. BitGo's public listing allows YZi Labs to reach out to regulated U.S. financial infrastructure providers rather than earlier token projects.

The investment accompanying BitGo's IPO on the New York Stock Exchange also provides a clearer path for price discovery than YZi Labs privately held investments. Publicly traded stocks can be continuously valued, while private shareholdings rely on financing rounds, secondary market sales or corporate disclosures.

In April this year, YZi Labs announced a follow-up investment in Predict.fun with Susquehanna Crypto. Previously, Predict.fun participated in the second season of the YZi Labs EASY Residency project.

The parties did not disclose the investment amount or www.example.com. Predict.fun YZi Labs said the platform has processed more than 4 million orders, with cumulative transaction volume exceeding US$1.8 billion.

Predict.fun operates a self-hosted prediction market on BNB Chain. Users trade contracts related to politics, sports, cryptocurrency prices and economic events.

Since receiving investment, the platform has continued to improve its infrastructure. In September, it launched a self-service developer dashboard to generate API keys, monitor usage and transaction limits. However, its reported trading volume growth of more than $1.8 billion supports YZi Labs 'description of expansion of activity, but trading volume itself does not prove profitability or the current value of investor positions.

AEON and TermMax: Extend to payments and lending

In May this year, YZi Labs led AEON's $8 million pre-seed financing round. IDG Capital, HashKey Capital, Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund and other investment institutions participated in this round of financing.

AEON is developing payment infrastructure designed to allow artificial intelligence agents to execute and settle transactions. The company describes its products as a settlement layer that connects autonomous software with blockchain-based and real-world payment systems.

This $8 million represents the full financing round amount. AEON did not disclose its valuation, the amount of YZi Labs 'individual investment or the proportion of shares acquired by participating investors.

In August, YZi Labs provided a separate strategic investment in TermMax. The fixed-rate loan agreement previously joined EASY Residency in its third quarter and raised more than $8 million in its financing round.

TermMax operates fixed rate lending markets on multiple Ethereum-compatible blockchains. It offers lending pools, strategic vaults and products designed to provide borrowers and lenders with more predictable rates than the variable-rate DeFi market.

The amount provided by YZi Labs was not disclosed. As a result, recent crypto venture capital fund disclosures excluded the TermMax transaction due to its lack of confirmed transaction value.

Conclusion: Zhao Changpeng's performance forecast remains to be tested

Zhao Changpeng's argument is based on the concept that "lower market valuations create better entry prices for long-term investors." When selected companies survive and grow during a downturn, this can indeed improve future returns. But that doesn't guarantee that every investment made near market lows will succeed.

In addition, the performance of private equity investments cannot be measured solely by token prices. YZi Labs may hold equity, warrants, tokens, or other contractual rights, depending on each transaction. Most of these terms have not yet been made public.

The five investments identified so far cover very different markets. RoboForce relies on industry adoption;BitGo competes in custody and financial infrastructure;Predict.fun relies on predicting market liquidity; and AEON and TermMax target payments and lending.

There is no universal performance benchmark that accurately measures all five businesses. Zhao Changpeng's views will not be verified until YZi Labs announces its entry valuation, subsequent financing price, exit status or realized distribution.

The agency has not yet announced when it will release portfolio performance information. Its next measurable development will come from financing rounds, public filings, product adoption data and potential liquidity events involving individual portfolio companies.