The cryptocurrency space is not even a month in the new year, and it has already made several headlines. The most highlighted part remains its price, with the key takeaway thus far being the absolute bloodbath of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The coins have registered double-digit loss, pushing most of their price to over a six-month low.
While the price continues to be of the utmost importance for investors and speculators, it is the exact opposite for innovators. Developers and programmers seem to be off in their own innovative space as the complete potential of the blockchain space is yet to tap into. As such, those invested in bringing the best out of this emerging digital revolution are part of a whole different game altogether.
BUIDL for the future
Binance – a leading cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure provider – has been at the forefront of placing innovation first for years now. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange started off on this journey a few months after its inception with the launch of Binance Labs.
This venture arm of the exchange was introduced solely for the purpose of empowering web3. It’s doing so by investing in technical teams that build and support this emerging digital ecosystem. Instituted in 2018, Binance Labs has expanded its presence in almost all the continents in the world, with its base in over 25 countries. In the last three years, this venture arm has invested in over 100 projects.
Web3’s plan of action
Along with introducing a venture division, the exchange kickstarted an Incubation Program that is spearheaded by Binance Labs. This Incubation Program provides a platform for a certain number of BUIDLers to present products powered by blockchain. The products could be anything a BUIDLer thinks is required for the growth of the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology ecosystem.
A blogpost explaining the proposal stated,
“While many were frustrated by nothing being built in Blockchain, we were extremely excited to see how BUIDLers can #BUIDL working products and services with Product/ Market fit in just 10 weeks at Binance Labs Incubation Program”
Since its launch, the program has been through three seasons and has given platforms to some of the leading innovators of current times. This includes players like Polygon, Dune Analytics, Perpetual Protocol, SafePal, and Cere Network.
Interestingly, what makes this particular program different from all others is the support it offers. Binance Labs provides all the necessary support to the teams, including regulatory/ legal advice, technical execution, fundraising, and others.
Season of the third Incubation Program
The third season of the Incubation Program lasts for a duration of 8 weeks and is co-organized by DoraHacks – a global hackathon organizer. This season was launched in November 2021 and is set to conclude on January 25, 2022. There was a total of 9 participants selected for this program. They were Block Ape Scissors, Tranching Protocol, GAT Network, Wombat.Exchange, Bird, Mint Club, Raydius, Copycat Finance, SkyArk Studio. These projects came from all sorts of backgrounds present within the crypto-space.
Notably, in the past 8 weeks, Binance Labs provided the BUIDLers with extensive mentorship from industry experts, with even Changpeng Zhao – the CEO & Co-founder of Binance – guiding these projects. This was undertaken as a part of the program’s weekly fireside chat sessions and workshops.
Guidance for a stronger BUIDL
The first week was kickstarted with the guidance of Sandeep Nailwal – the co-founder of Polygon, a leading Ethereum sidechain solution. The co-founder imparted the need for a strong foundation, with the importance placed on a defined goal, user-friendly UI/UX for adoption, and experienced leaders for scalability.
The second week was headed by DoroHacks – one of the most active developer communities in the world and co-organizer. An anonymous person – Mysterious Man – representing the platform elucidated on the importance of marketing for blockchain projects. The person leaned in on the power of community engagement, meaningful partnership for a smooth business operation, and tapping into the social media campaigns to increase awareness.
In the same week, Binance Labs also hosted Hartej Sawhney – Co-founder and CEO of Zokyo, a top smart contract auditor. The topic discussed by the executive here was the need to have a secure and reliable project. Sawhney explained that projects needed to set ample time for multiple audits as they were becoming a necessity to even get listed in the exchange.
The third and the fourth-week x Binance’s co-founders – He Yi and Changpeng Zhao – sharing their expertise in the cryptoverse. He Yi – also the CMO of Binance – shared the marketing mantra with the teams. The key takeaways were the value of marketing for long-term growth, creating a unique and memorable brand identity, and adaptable and open-minded marketing strategies.
Changpeng Zhao – popularly known as CZ – spoke about his vision for Binance and tended to the questions posed by the incubation projects. The key highlights of his session were on managing risks as there was a high chance of failure in the startup ecosystem, learning and listening to the community as the space continually evolves quickly, and having a collaborative mindset.
The fifth and the sixth week was focused on cybersecurity risks and the fundamentals of a great organizational culture. Prof. Ronghui Gu – co-founder of CertiK – spoke on cybersecurity risks and ways to eliminate it. He reigned in on the need for a tech partner for the best third-party checks for cybersecurity and audit purpose.
Eyal Hertzog – co-founder of Bancor – addressed the projects on the fundamentals of organizational culture. He focused on the subject of staying true to one’s mission and fostering a positive work environment as people play an important role in a company’s success.
End of a season, not innovation
Towards the end of the sixth week, almost all the projects were near their completion phase, with some stepping into the launch phase. These projects will get to present their projects virtually to investors and notable industry influencers.
At the conclusion of the third season of the Binance Labs Incubation Program, Bill Chin – head of Binance Labs fund – said,
“The third season of the Incubation Program saw talented projects coming from different sectors, such as gaming, NFTs, DeFi, trading platform, and more. BUIDLer Day will be the perfect opportunity for the projects to showcase their growth to prominent global investors. We believe that all nine projects have the potential to push the blockchain industry forward in a meaningful way.”
Notably, while the 3rd season is coming to an end, the platform has already started to move into the 4th season. The upcoming season’s application process has already started, with the program itself set to start in March.
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be treated as news/advice.
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