Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, has expressed strong confidence that investments made by YZi Labs in recent months will rank among the firm’s best-performing holdings. The Binance founder attributed this outlook to the timing of the deals, which occurred while cryptocurrency prices traded near their lows during a pronounced market downturn.

YZi Labs functions as the family office overseeing personal wealth for Zhao and Binance co-founder Yi He. The firm manages more than $10 billion and operates independently after evolving from the former Binance Labs venture arm. Its recent activity extends beyond pure cryptocurrency projects into robotics, artificial intelligence payments, prediction markets and digital asset custody.

Market Context and Timing Rationale

Zhao’s comments followed an August 28 book club session held in Hong Kong. He linked the expected outperformance directly to the depth of the recent crypto market decline. Bitcoin had dropped approximately 47 percent from its previous peak by early June, prompting widespread discussion of an especially severe downturn. Although prices have recovered some ground since then, they remain substantially below the October high.

Zhao also pointed to capital flows into artificial intelligence as a factor that has weeded out shorter-term crypto teams. He has separately indicated that some of that AI capital is already beginning to move back into digital assets.

Key Investments Made in 2026

Among the largest disclosed commitments was a lead role in a $52 million funding round for RoboForce in March. The company develops physical AI systems in the robotics sector. YZi Labs also acquired a stake in digital asset custodian BitGo ahead of its January listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Additional positions followed later in the year. In April the firm increased its holding in prediction market platform Predict.fun in a transaction that included Susquehanna Crypto. In May it led an $8 million pre-seed round for AEON, a payments protocol designed for the agentic economy. In August it supported TermMax, a fixed-rate lending protocol aimed at advancing on-chain bond market infrastructure.

Zhao has not released any performance or return figures for these investments, leaving the projection of superior results unverified at this stage.

Other Developments and Outlook

Separately, YZi Labs spent part of the year engaged in a governance dispute involving BNB treasury firm CEA Industries. A director resigned in March and the parties reached a settlement in June.

Zhao continues to hold a constructive long-term view on Bitcoin, having previously suggested that a $1 million price level could arrive earlier than many market participants anticipate. The ultimate results of the winter-period investments will depend in large part on the direction of the next phase of the digital asset market.