Binance is launching a huge incubator program, offering $500K to 8-10 blockchain startups every quarter.
The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by transaction volume, Binance, is putting their money where their mouth is. The exchange has said it wants to promote and facilitate the health of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, even going so far as to help build up rival companies. As part of this effort, the exchange has announced a large-scale incubator program.
Giving Others a Hand Up
The program is technically called the Binance Labs Incubation Program. It’s an ambitious program designed to nurture blockchain startups and steer them onto a path to success.
The incubator program works by Binance Labs choosing from 8 to 10 promising startups every quarter. Each startup will be given $500,000 in funding, but the catch is that the funding gives Binance a 10 percent stake in the startup.
The funding will cover the costs of transportation, housing, and other developmental costs as the startup developers travel to San Francisco, the site of the first program, for a 10 week period. Once the incubator program begins, Binance will provide mentorship and guidance to the startups on a myriad of topics related to the crypto/blockchain industry: wallets, stability, compliance, dApps, infrastructure, and so on.
At the end of the 10-week program, there will be a “BUIDLer Day” where the startups will pitch their projects to a gathering of media, industry professionals, and potential investors.
As to why the exchange is willing to help fund and develop blockchain startups, Binance Labs CEO Ella Zhang said:
Binance Labs began to do investments in the past few months and we’ve seen a lot of market hype which is distracting many founders from launching and delivering because there’s a huge demand from investors to get into their project. They need a lot of help to become a more mature team and company in order to really shape what they want to do.
Eventually, the program will take place in cities across the world, including Africa and Asia.
Binance Working Hard
It makes perfect sense for the cryptocurrency exchange to help develop other blockchain-based companies. The exchange depends upon a healthy cryptocurrency ecosystem to flourish, and the exchange is flourishing. It expects to generate a billion dollars in revenue by the end of 2018.
The exchange expanded its operation by opening the first fiat-crypto exchange in Uganda. The African market has been woefully underserved by major cryptocurrency exchanges, so Binance is definitely looking to get a head-start on the competition. Plus, this exchange does provide access to financial services to many people who had none before.
Binance is also going on a shopping spree, purchasing companies in the cryptocurrency/blockchain sphere. Their first purchase was Trust Wallet, a decentralized application browser and wallet provider that allows users to store more than 20,000 different tokens. Trust Wallet was just the first as the exchange does have a shopping list of companies it’s interested in.
What do you think of the Binance Labs Incubator Program? Let us know in the comments below.
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