Funding Roundup: Binance Labs invests in BIO Protocol

“BIO can be thought of as a Y Combinator for onchain Science,” Binance said in a statement

article-image

Grey82/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

This week’s election frenzy dominated headlines, pushing funding news to the sidelines. However, a few notable deals did manage to break through the noise. Here’s what made the cut.

First up, Binance Labs made headlines Friday with its first foray into DeSci (decentralized science), investing in BIO Protocol through its $10 billion venture arm.

“BIO can be thought of as a Y Combinator for onchain Science,” Binance said in a statement. 

Read more: BIO protocol is pushing scientific funding onchain

The amount invested was not disclosed. 

Binance Labs wasn’t the only firm busy making investments; Tether also announced on Friday that its investment division had “financed a physical crude oil transaction between a publicly traded super-major oil company and a top-tier commodity trader,” which was completed back in October.

“…The transaction was to facilitate the loading and transporting of 670,000 barrels of Middle Eastern crude oil, valued at approximately $45 million. This transaction marks Tether Investments’ first crude oil transaction in the region and highlights the company’s expanding role in global commodities trading,” Tether said in a statement.

Read more: Digital yuan used to settle crude oil trade for Chinese oil company: Report

And finally, the Pharos layer-1 closed an $8 million seed round, with Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC leading the charge.

“The company plans to utilize the funding to accelerate the development of the Pharos protocol and drive the growth of the ecosystem and community,” Pharos said in a statement. 

Other investors included MH Ventures, Reforge and Hash Global.

“At Pharos, we are driven by our belief to bridge existing [fintech] services with trustless Web3 innovations to onboard billions of new users and real-world assets into the Web3 ecosystem. This seed round propels us closer to realizing that vision,” Pharos CEO Alex Zhang said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability