Pearl
Puffer
NEAR Protocol
ZKsync
Bitcoin
Solana
Starknet
Key Insights:
- Changpeng Zhao confirmed he donated $10 million in BNB to support Vitalik Buterin’s open-source biotech initiatives.
- The donation was aimed at projects in longevity research, vaccine access, and universal virus detection.
- YZi Labs and CZ emphasized mission-first investments over profit, backing projects that focus on long-term public health impact.
CZ Backed Vitalik Buterin‘s Open-Source Vaccine Push With Major Crypto Grant
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) revealed that he’d personally donated $10 million in BNB to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s biotech efforts. The donation was made a few months earlier and supported open-source vaccine development, research into longevity, and general virus detection tools.
CZ announced it on July 1 via X (formerly Twitter), and it linked to a long testimonial from biotech exec Jane Sparking, who works with CZ through YZi Labs. The donation was seen as a low-key promise to support projects that help public health without using traditional pharmaceutical methods.
Back in April, at a private BNBChain session in Hong Kong, CZ revealed plans to contribute $10 million to Vitalik’s biotech push. The meeting was all about decentralised science and the role of crypto in public goods funding.
Vitalik Buterin also presented at the session, where he explained how AI simulations could improve DAO coordination for medical research funding. He said that new ways of funding research could make things more efficient than the old ways.
This move was all about following a growing trend among crypto leaders to bring blockchain values transparency, decentralisation and public access – into non-crypto domains. CZ wanted to make life-saving innovation more accessible, so they made it easier for people to donate to biotech through open funding channels.
YZi Labs Framed the Donation as Long-Term and Mission-Driven
Jane said in the article that CZ cared more about people than money. She said that when they first started talking, it was all about the impact of the patient, not all the hype or the business cycles. CZ had told her that the current biotech industry didn’t listen to enough people, especially the small innovators who weren’t part of the old systems.
“This isn’t about chasing the next big thing,” she wrote. “It’s about opening doors for the underdogs.”
YZi Labs, a biotech lab, said it was all for solutions that would take a long time and wouldn’t rely on the usual ways of exiting. The main thing was that founders should be building treatments and systems that wouldn’t be locked behind paywalls.
CZ Defended Vitalik Buterin Against Online Criticism
Following online pushback, Zhao defended Buterin’s work and dedication to public interest projects. When questioned about Buterin’s lifestyle and focus, CZ replied that the Ethereum founder was pursuing socially valuable research that demanded high levels of intellectual engagement.
“Donating to him was an obvious choice,” Zhao stated, noting that although biotech was not his area of expertise, he saw the value in Vitalik’s efforts. He also expressed hope that Buterin maintained a healthy work-life balance.
Vitalik Buterin Vision: Public Biotech Without Patent Barriers
Buterin has maintained a long-standing focus on funding public, non-commercial scientific research. His efforts in vaccine development and age-related disease prevention aimed to create global systems that were open-source and immune to restrictive patents.
Zhao had previously described Buterin’s contributions as essential to Ethereum’s development and the broader blockchain ecosystem. In a March 2025 statement, CZ said Buterin’s work helped shape crypto’s growth and should receive continued support from the industry.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and provides no financial, investment, or other advice. The author or any people mentioned in this article are not responsible for any financial loss that may occur from investing in or trading. Please do your research before making any financial decisions.
