Is Binance's $1B Crypto Recovery Fund A Gigantic Fizzle?

Crypto exchange Binance promised to invest a staggering $1 billion, denominated in its branded stablecoin BUSD, into promising crypto startups through its Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI), following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. As it stands now, IRI has only funded $30 million in projects, according to a Bloomberg report.

Other well-known companies had joined the effort with around $70 million in funds, including market maker Jump Crypto and Animoca Brands, which built a portfolio focused on areas such as blockchain gaming.

The Industry Recovery Initiative wasn’t structured like a fund; rather, participants would invest the money they committed the way they saw fit — whether by buying stakes in companies or acquiring them outright, Bloomberg reported.

Binance said 18 companies participated in IRI, but only nine were publicly identified.

In the Nov. 24 interview with Bloomberg, Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao pitched the rescue as an exercise in transparency with money parked in public wallets for everyone to see, “so it’s not just some behind-the-scenes fund.”

But the IRI never seemed to live up to that promise fully.

A Binance spokesperson said the IRI financed 14 projects, declining to name them or provide a breakdown of how much they received.

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The spokesperson also declined to comment on the total amount of money the initiative deployed.

The spokesperson said Binance moved $985 million of the funds it had committed to the IRI funds back to its corporate treasury and plans to use it for investments.

Based on earlier announcements by Binance, the last deal done through the initiative was in February.

“We didn’t identify as many projects who would meet our criteria, and this is the same for the other investors,” Binance said.

Its only publicly disclosed investment made as part of the initiative was its purchase of a $15 million majority stake in South Korean crypto exchange GOPAX, announced in February.

Binance said it is waiting for final approval from local regulators to complete the deal.

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