Former Binance CEO Changpeng (CZ) Zhao’s YZi Labs has invested in Digital Asset, the institutional blockchain platform Canton Network developer.
YZi Labs joins a $135 million Series E round that was first announced on June 24 and includes participation from finance incumbents like Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, DRW, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
YZi Labs is the new name for what was formerly Binance Labs. It has been restructured into a family office to manage the personal wealth and investments of CZ, and Binance co-founder, Yi He. CZ described the investment as “merging Wallet Street and blockchain.”
The capital infusion from the $10 billion asset manager aligns a major crypto-native fund with established Wall Street entities, all backing a specific technological approach to enterprise blockchain.
The funding is directed at expanding the Canton Network, a platform designed to facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets for regulated financial institutions. It aims to resolve the persistent challenge of enabling blockchain operations while adhering to the strict privacy and compliance mandates of mature markets.
The network functions as a public Layer 1 with configurable privacy, a structure intended to offer an alternative to transparent public ledgers and siloed, private blockchains.
Digital Asset’s platform has demonstrated substantial activity according to Yzi Labs, with reports of it supporting over $1.5 trillion in monthly tokenized U.S. Treasury repo volume. The network currently involves nearly 400 participants from both decentralized and traditional finance sectors.
By allowing institutions to set specific privacy controls, the Canton Network addresses the core conflict between the need for financial confidentiality and the interoperability benefits of a shared ledger. The growth in real-world asset tokenization has been substantial, with the sector benefiting from increased institutional interest in bringing assets like bonds and private credit on-chain.
Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs, commented on the firm’s involvement.
“Through this investment, YZi Labs is proud to support the mission of bringing tokenized real-world assets into the financial mainstream, and to contribute to the broader goal of advancing global institutional adoption,” Zhang stated.
Her comments position the investment as a move to foster the foundational infrastructure required for merging traditional financial assets with blockchain technology.
The collaboration was also commented on by Digital Asset’s leadership.
“This investment from YZi Labs reinforces the growing demand for blockchain infrastructure that meets the rigorous standards of global financial markets,” said Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Asset.
Rooz added that YZi Labs’ background in Web3 infrastructure and scaling emerging technologies makes it a suitable partner as Canton expands its reach. The stated goal for the capital is to enhance the Canton Network’s infrastructure, streamline the onboarding of new institutions, and support the interoperability required to manage a higher volume of real-world assets.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, the company plans for additional live deployments from major financial institutions and expansion into new global markets.
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