Key Takeaways:
YZi Labs announced investment in Genius to accelerate the buildout of a private, high-velocity on-chain trading terminal.
The investment advanced YZi Labs’ thesis of backing infrastructure that delivers CEX-level speed, liquidity, and discretion while remaining fully user-owned.
YZi Labs today announced its investment in Genius, a professional trading terminal designed to be the definitive, private interface for on-chain execution. With CZ as an advisor, Genius embodies the core of YZi Labs’ investment thesis: backing infrastructure that fuses the speed, liquidity, and privacy of centralized exchanges (CEXs) without compromising on user ownership or decentralization.
As the DEX-to-CEX volume ratio shifts increasingly toward decentralized venues, professional traders face a critical "transparency bug": the inability to move large positions without alerting the market and losing alpha. Genius intends to solve this by consolidating trading across BNB Chain, Solana, Ethereum, and six other networks into a single venue where privacy and execution speed are prioritized.
Genius’s competitive edge lies in its 'Ghost Order' type. Leveraging Multi-Party Computation (MPC), the protocol generates ephemeral wallet clusters that can be orchestrated simultaneously. This allows high-value actors to execute complex strategies across hundreds of addresses while keeping the funding links confidential from the public yet cryptographically auditable. Crucially, the system remains non-custodial, meaning users execute these high-level strategies without ever giving up access to their private keys.
The newly raised funds will be used to "put gasoline on an already lit fire," accelerating the development of the privacy protocol for its scheduled open-access launch in late 2026 and scaling liquidity across the 10+ supported networks.
“The funding is about alignment more than anything else; aligning with YZi Labs means we have the industry’s most thorough and well-resourced backer taking a meaningful swing at creating an ‘on-chain’ Binance, while focusing on what makes CEXs better than DEXs right now: privacy.” said Armaan Kalsi, Co-founder & CEO of Genius.
“I first met Genius at the NYC Builder Bunker during a BNB Chain MVB demo and was impressed by both the product and Armaan. He has the distinct traits of a founder who’s going to win: sharp, logical, and articulate. I pulled him aside from the crowd after his demo -- and found out he understood deeply what he’s building, and later we were even more impressed seeing the advanced version of Genius.” said Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs.
“The next phase of DeFi is about execution and privacy. Genius is building a unified, high-performance trading layer that delivers deep liquidity, fast routing, and privacy-enabled execution - allowing professional and power users to operate on-chain with the same efficiency and discretion they expect in traditional markets.” said Alex Odagiu, Investment Partner at YZi Labs.
About YZi Labs
YZi Labs manages over $10 billion in assets globally. Our investment philosophy emphasizes impact first—we believe that meaningful returns will naturally follow. We invest in ventures at every stage, prioritizing those with solid fundamentals in Web3, AI, and biotech. For more information, follow YZi Labs on X (@yzilabs).
About Genius
Genius is the on-chain trading terminal for all of Pro DeFi. Swap, ape, copy, and take out leveraged positions on over 10 chains, including BNB and Solana. Beyond the memecoin era, Genius’s long-term focus is enabling private transactions on any chain, at scale, without the need for ZK proof generation, in a single, consolidated terminal across all of DeFi—no matter where the user lives.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, endorsement, analysis, or recommendations with respect to any financial instruments, investments, or issuers. This article may contain forward-looking statements which are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties. Investment in cryptocurrency and DeFi projects involves substantial risk, including the risk of complete loss. This article does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or specific needs of any particular person and each individual is urged to consult their legal and financial advisors before making any investment decisions.
