Former Binance exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao denied that the firm YZi Labs (formerly Binance Ventures) plans to bring in outside investors in the future. Earlier this was stated by the Financial Times, referring to the head of the organization, Ella Zhang.

Complete false news from FT, with fake/wrong/made-up info and negative narratives. This is just from what I gathered on social media, I did not even read the FT article. No subscription. ????

As far as I know:

YZiLabs is not raising external fund.
There is no demo. WTF is a demo … https://t.co/muO09pX8Bz

– CZ ? BNB (@cz_binance) September 23, 2025

Recall that the FT piece talked about the fact that YZi Labs is considering transforming into an investment fund by raising external capital. At the moment, the company manages assets worth about $10 billion.

In his commentary, Zhao denied the information in the piece and also criticized the publication:

“Completely false news from the FT, with fake/incorrect/fictitious information and negative narratives. This is just what I’ve dug up on social media, I haven’t even read the FT article. There’s no subscription.”

According to him, YZi Labs has never raised external funding, nor even negotiated with interested parties. Zhao also emphasized that the firm operates completely independently of Binance.

He also noted that the FT had sought a lunch with him. Zhao has now canceled the meeting as he is disappointed with the publication’s business ethics.

Zhang also commented on the situation, noting that she agreed to the call in order to get “a new friend interested in cryptocurrencies.” Her statement implies that:

• the firm has no outside capital. Even when YZi Labs’ portfolio organizations raise funds, the company only acts as a minority shareholder;
• investing in portfolio organizations does not amount to raising external capital;
• YZi Labs has never been part of Binance, the claim that it has spun off is not true;
• there was no private demo at Easy Residency Demo Day for a small circle of venture capitalists;
• there are numerous other errors in the FT article.

“We are a small, passionate team and we value every interaction with partners, developers and media. We still devote our time and energy to the bold ideas that will really get results, and the people that dare to make them happen. But we will engage less with media that lies and reach out to people with their own agendas,” Zhang summarized.

This is not the first time Zhao has criticized the press. Previously, he criticized Bloomberg for attacking him.