Binance Labs invests in Ethereum restaking protocol Renzo
Summary
Binance Labs, the $10 billion venture capital and incubation arm of crypto exchange Binance, has invested an undisclosed sum in Renzo, an Ethereum liquid restaking protocol based on EigenLayer.Binance Labs investment in Renzo comes shortly after the startup raised $3.2 million in a seed funding round at a $25 million valuation last month. The firm invested in Puffer Finance last month, which has quickly grown to become the second-largest liquid restaking protocol since its launch on Feb. 1. EigenLayer-based protocols, including Renzo and Puffer, have collectively amassed over $3.5 billion worth of assets.Liquid restaking protocols "play a pivotal role in unlocking liquidity and maximizing capital efficiency, while also abstracting technical complexities for users," Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, told The Block in a statement.With fresh capital from Binance Labs, Renzo plans to launch native ETH restaking on BNB Chain via its recent partnership with cross-chain protocol Connext, Kozinski said. Points are similar to normal loyalty points like airline miles and are designed to encourage engagement without being directly tradable or valuable.Renzo already also accepts deposits of wBETH (Binances liquid staking token) for restaking, Kozinski said, adding that the protocol remains focused on building new restaking integrations for BNB Chain users.Besides wBETH, Renzo also accepts Lidos liquid staking token stETH in addition to native ETH for restaking, Kozinski noted.Renzo is currently live in a mainnet beta. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry.