Binance Labs Monthly Portfolio Updates, May 2020
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Scattered across the globe, locked down in our tiny apartments, we take this opportunity to kickstart our Binance Labs monthly update letter.
Stay tuned about the progress of our Binance Labs portfolio companies and the Binance ecosystem overall. Make sure to check out CZ’s book recommendations at the end of the letter as well.
Portfolio Feature
Fredrik Haga, CEO & Co-Founder, Dune Analytics.
“Dune is an on-chain data analytics company that allows you to query, visualise, share, and explore human readable smart contract data. You can explore thousands of charts and even create your own at https://explore.duneanalytics.com/.”
Join the community: https://t.me/dunefriends.
Our Portfolios Are Kicking It… 🚀
NYM releases its long anticipated public testnet with Blockstream, the Web3 Foundation, Zcash, and Monero community members as the first set of nodes. Find out how to join here.
MobileCoin has launched a public testnet. You can download the test client and run your own validator node.
High up on the news last week was UMA's Initial Uniswap Offering. If you're wondering what the numbers for the token sale looked like, go check out the dashboards on Dune Analytics.
Elrond will launch its mainnet with BUSD being the first available stablecoin on the network. While waiting for the launch, let Elrond take you on a world tour.
FIO Protocol has launched its mainnet and you can soon start registering your FIO domains on Trust Wallet.
Marlin is kickstarting its Katara testnet with Incognito Chain and LTO network to scale blockchains at layer-0.
Injective Protocol is getting ready to launch its decentralized exchange and futures platform.
Phishing is plaguing crypto projects and its users since Bitcoin's genesis (almost), but the team at Phishfort has you covered. Read more on Forbes.
Don't keep your BNB idle! Kava, a Binance Launchpad project, will let you mint USDX from your BNB at an attractive yield. Register here to be the first to be notified.
Band Protocol, a Binance Launchpad project, is getting closer to its mainnet launch. Listen to the team speak to our friends at Chorus One.
… And We At Binance Are Kicking It Too! 🚀
At Binance Labs, we are always on the lookout to support exceptional technical teams that are on the forefront of building cutting edge technology. Apply for an investment here.
We are excited to share with you that former Binance Labs Director, Yele Bademosi, has just come out of stealth with his newest, Binance incubated project - Bundle. Go Yele!
The team at BNB Chain has proposed a dual-chain architecture that will empower users to build dApps on the EVM-compatible BNB Smart Chain whilst taking advantage of the fast transaction capabilities of BNB Chain.
You might have already heard of it. We have introduced the Binance Widget which is now available to all Brave desktop browser users. This integration allows you to manage, buy, and trade your favourite cryptocurrency all without leaving the browser.
Binance Research - Latest Analysis
Will Libra Live Up To Its Initial Ambitions?
Etienne and Jonas from our Binance Research team discuss changes of Libra's core features since it was first publicly announced and conclude their discussion with an in-depth analysis of the potential rationale behind some of these design changes.
What Else We're Reading
It's Time To Build
The current health crisis is showcasing once more how fragile our systems are. We are too satisfied with the status quo, a situation that is gradually decreasing the desire in us to build and improve - so says Marc Andreessen from a16z and cites areas such as education, housing, and healthcare as being ripe for disruption. A great - and somewhat controversial - read.
How Binance Works From Home
Since COVID-19 has kicked in, our team got scattered across the globe. As of the time of writing, I'm sitting in the French hinterland and waiting for the crisis to fade out - unfortunately there are no vineyards here. Read up on how our own Binancians are dealing with the situation.
How Binance Runs A Remote Organisation
In this follow-up article on our previous piece "How Binance Works Form Home", we share our learnings and best practices about running a remote organisation - a situation that we are familiar with since the foundation of the company. Learn how you can also make remote work a viable business model.
The Unbelievable Story Of The $25M Lendf.me Hack
Wild times in DeFi indeed. Check out this great podcast with Laura Shin from Unchained and Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly Capital. Haseeb is unfolding step-by-step the events that led to the hack and its spectacular aftermath.
CZ's Book Recommendations
Lastly, three book recommendations from CZ for the days of lockdown:
The Law by Frédéric Bastiat. This short (only 60+ pages) but timeless book by French essayist Bastiat from 1850 talks about what the law should be and should not be. What areas should be protected: person, property and freedom. And what areas should be left alone. It forms a fundamental view of the world and of right and wrong.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. If you don’t understand humans, you are unlikely to be successful in this world. This book gives a unique and deep perspective of our history, how we got here, why we act the way we do. It is essential for understanding how humans work, and thus success.
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. We believe every modern organisation should be run like this.
Top-down structures no longer work
Decisions should be made by people who understand the situation
Embed / exchange program
Information sharing to everyone
Eyes on, hands off
If you find a great analysis, a thoughtful piece, or a fascinating book that is worth sharing, please send it to us and we’ll share with everyone.
Best,
The Binance Labs Team
Cryptocurrency investment is subject to high market risk. Binance is not responsible for any of your trading losses. The opinions and statements made above should not be considered financial advice.