Binance Labs, the cryptocurrency exchange’s venture capital arm, has raised $500 million to launch a fund that would invest in Web 3 and blockchain startups.

According to a blog post published on Wednesday, the fundraising included DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, Whampoa Group, and other private equity groups.

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stated, “The purpose of the newly closed investment fund is to uncover and assist companies and creators with the ability to build and lead Web 3 across DeFi, NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, social, and more.”

The fund will invest in firms at all stages of development: incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth.

Binance Labs’ fund is the latest in a long line of venture capitalist-backed crypto funds, with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) launching $4.5 billion last week to show confidence in the market despite the current dip.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is at $1.3 trillion, down from $2.9 trillion in November.

It has invested in over 170 businesses in over 25 countries since 2018, including 1inch, a decentralized financial and exchange aggregator; Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game; and The Sandbox and Polygon, a decentralized Ethereum-focused layer-2 scaling platform.

“We want to be ready to invest in such sectors as they emerge,” Li explained. Adoption of gaming and DeFi, for example, can come swiftly. There’s DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and the metaverse on the consumer side, but there are also undefined industries for which Binance wants to be prepared.

While finance is beneficial to entrepreneurs, it may not be the most crucial factor, according to Li. “Supporting entrepreneurs is more important than bringing capital to market.”

Several crypto funds have recently opened, including Andreessen Horowitz’s latest – and largest – $4.5 billion mega fund, as well as other multibillion-dollar funds.