ChainCatcher news, Binance Labs stated on social media that as we transition to 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake, Binance Labs expects the crypto industry to enter a vibrant phase. The wood element symbolizes growth and creativity, heralding a mature year for innovation and development. The anticipated supportive stance of the incoming Trump administration towards cryptocurrencies is expected to create a more favorable regulatory environment.This shift may enhance institutional interest and investment in the crypto space, aiding the maturation of the industry and building a stronger foundation on solid ground. Binance Labs' main focus areas for 2025 are crypto/blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, and they are also excited to see innovations emerging at the intersection of these three fields.It is expected that underperforming sectors such as gaming, ZK technology, and privacy solutions may make a comeback as they transition from development to production, thereby supporting new use cases. Additionally, existing narratives such as DeSci, RWA/stablecoins, and AI agents should continue to perform well with strong momentum.

ChainCatcher news, Binance Labs stated on the X platform: "During the DeSci Day event held last week at the Binance Labs BUIDLer House in Bangkok, we gathered around 50 like-minded biotech and DeSci enthusiasts to exchange ideas and build connections.In the 3-hour event, speakers shared insights on topics ranging from the development of biotechnology to rapamycin and longevity, citizen science, bioDAO, on-chain intellectual property, and AI agents for science. Some well-known bioDAOs also shared exciting updates—VitaDAO launched their first longevity supplement approved by the Thai FDA. HairDAO is scaling up, applying for a second patent, and launching a shampoo that has significant effects on hair loss. We also invited CZ and Vitalik to interact with the community through an open Q&A session and connect with other DeSci founders and builders.Biotechnology and science are endeavors that require long-term investment, and we are still in the early stages of integrating crypto technology with them. We are excited about the potential and enthusiasm in the biotech field, but we also understand that true innovation requires patience, perseverance, and a long-term vision. We are committed to fostering more innovation in the crypto industry, focusing on lasting achievements and impact. At Binance Labs, we focus on investing in crypto technology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. We always pay attention to the core foundation and are dedicated to achieving long-term impact."

ChainCatcher news, recently, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng stated on social media X that he is studying articles related to biotechnology and considering how to leverage cryptocurrency technology to accelerate the flow of research funding. Industry insiders believe that if Zhao Changpeng, who has ample time and resources, enters the DeSci field, it will bring new development opportunities to this sector. Currently, crypto leaders such as Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong have also expressed strong interest in this field.Overall, the development of the DeSci sector is still in its early stages. According to RootData, the DeSci sector completed $11.2 million in financing in 2024 (as of November), a year-on-year decrease of 18.1%. This year, several financing rounds in this sector include: the DeSci financial layer protocol BIO Protocol completed a $6.2 million public round of financing on August 21 and received strategic investment from Binance Labs on November 8, marking Binance Labs' first investment in the DeSci sector; on September 25, a16z led a $5 million seed round for AminoChain. Additionally, Pfizer had previously invested in VitaDAO in January 2023.In terms of financing scale, the decentralized biotechnology protocol Molecule has raised a total of $13.7 million through three rounds of financing, with over 50 investors including Shine Capital, Northpond Ventures, and Sora Ventures. So far, projects in the DeSci sector have cumulatively raised over $60 million.Data shows that the market capitalization of DeSci project tokens exhibits a clear stratification, with ResearchHub (RSC) leading with a $496 million FDV, followed by HairDAO and VitaDAO with $105 million and $86.83 million, respectively. The second tier is represented by ValleyDAO, GenomeFi, and Data Lake, all with FDVs in the $15-30 million range, but still significantly lower than the leading projects. In September, the Solana ecosystem project Pump.science introduced a meme mechanism for drug research predictions, while the Arweave super parallel computer AO provided new solutions for research data storage; these innovative attempts may drive the development of the DeSci sector.

ChainCatcher news, according to Caixin reports, former Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng stated at the second Gulf Investment Forum held in Bahrain: "Many people do not know the benefits here."Zhao Changpeng also mentioned that he has learned that Hong Kong peers are actively exploring RWA, but the price fluctuations of real-world assets are relatively small, making it difficult to form sufficient trading volume in the secondary market, and liquidity tends to gradually shrink. We need to wait for innovators to propose use cases that truly bring liquidity.In addition, Zhao Changpeng expressed great optimism about investment opportunities in the Middle East, focusing not only on blockchain investments but also strategically positioning in AI, biotechnology, and other fields in the GCC countries.It is reported that after obtaining the cryptocurrency service provider license granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain, Binance has also received approval for a banking license from the CBB, which means Binance has legal currency entry and exit channels in the region.

ChainCatcher news, Zhao Changpeng stated during an interview at the main venue of the Dubai Binance Blockchain Week that Binance has been doing well during his absence, and even if he is allowed to return, he may not actually go back. He is now focused on educating and investing in cryptocurrencies, AI, and biotechnology.He mentioned that while he was in prison, no inmates "troubled him," some guards were a bit harsh, but it did not cause any issues, and he was fortunate not to suffer any physical harm. After serving his sentence, he found that other inmates had long sentences, and his "4 months" was already the shortest.

ChainCatcher message, Zhao Changpeng posted on the X platform stating that the food tastes amazing, and being able to eat more than one piece of fruit every day is truly a luxury. I want to thank everyone for their support. This means a lot to me and helps me stay strong during my darkest moments.Some quick updates/thoughts: Giggle Academy is progressing well and will become an important part of my life in the coming years. I will continue to invest in blockchain/decentralized technology, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. I am a long-term investor, focused on impact rather than returns. I will also dedicate more time and resources to charity (and education). I have some rough ideas. I am still writing my book. I think I am about 2/3 finished. Writing the book is much more challenging than I expected, but I will persevere.

ChainCatcher news, the decentralized biotechnology protocol BIO Protocol announced on August 20 that it has completed a $6.22 million first round Genesis auction financing, exceeding the original target of approximately $5 million.Currently, investors participating in the first round of financing can begin to claim $BIO tokens, of which 50% can be obtained immediately, and the remaining 50% will be unlocked linearly over one year (referred to as vBIO).It is worth noting that this financing amount for BIO accounts for more than half of the total public sales in August this year ($11.81 million), and BIO Protocol also stated that it plans to launch a new round of financing.

ChainCatcher news, according to The New York Times, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng is still actively preparing for a transition into the AI and biotechnology sectors after pleading guilty last November. Insiders revealed that Zhao communicated via text with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the end of last year, discussing the challenges faced by startups in global expansion.It is reported that Zhao and Altman had met a year prior. During the leadership struggle at OpenAI last November, the two reestablished contact. Additionally, Zhao had dinner in December in Los Angeles with Gu Ronghui, a professor of computer science at Columbia University and co-founder of the blockchain security company CertiK, which is backed by Binance. Gu wrote in a court letter that Zhao mentioned he had communicated with Altman, stating, "They both believe that AI will greatly assist in technological development and the advancement of human knowledge." Zhao also indicated that he is seeking investment to support large data centers for AI applications.Last month, Zhao announced the launch of an online education platform, Giggle Academy, and expressed interest in investing in AI and biotechnology on social media. In court documents, he stated that he hopes to fund small research laboratories to use blockchain technology to cure diseases and benefit billions of people worldwide.Zhao pleaded guilty last November to violating anti-money laundering regulations and was sentenced to four months in prison by a judge on Tuesday local time. Prosecutors had recommended a three-year prison sentence, while defense attorneys requested probation. Despite facing imprisonment, the $33 billion crypto mogul seems confident about his future transformation path.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, biotechnology company Blackrock Neurotech announced a strategic investment of $200 million from Tether's venture capital arm, Tether Evo.After this round of investment, Tether becomes the majority shareholder of Blackrock Neurotech. This investment will help Blackrock Neurotech fund the commercialization and promotion of its medical solutions and support its research and development efforts.

ChainCatcher news, the decentralized longevity research organization VitaDAO announced a collaboration with biologist Vera Gorbunova to establish a biotechnology company, Matrix Biosciences, focused on longevity research. Matrix Biosciences aims to identify the best candidate drugs for treating cancer and age-related diseases using its cutting-edge research. VitaDAO will provide an initial funding of $300,000, which will be raised through IP tokenization in early 2024.According to the crypto data platform RootData, VitaDAO announced in January this year that it had completed a $4.08 million funding round, with participation from Spaceship DAO, Beaker DAO, Shine Capital, L1 Digital, Balaji Srinivasan, and others.