Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s $10 billion investment firm, YZi Labs formerly Binance Labs, is exploring the possibility of accepting external capital from outside investors and potentially converting into a public-facing investment fund.

This shift would mark a departure from its current family office structure, which primarily manages CZ’s personal fortune alongside funds from early Binance executives like co-founder Yi He.

The move comes amid strong investor interest and a more favorable U.S. regulatory environment under the Trump administration, including outreach from SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who requested a private demo of YZi Labs’ portfolio companies after attending their NYSE event.

Approximately 70% of YZi Labs’ holdings are in digital assets, with investments in over 230 crypto and Web3 projects, including Aptos and Polygon. The firm is expanding into AI, biotech, and robotics, building dedicated teams in these areas.

In 2022, YZi Labs briefly accepted $300 million from external backers but returned most of it to maintain independence. Now, with demand rising, head Ella Zhang indicated the firm is in early discussions but open to evolving into an externally focused vehicle for broader access.

Transitioning to a public fund could introduce stricter compliance, enhanced transparency, and diversified exposure to blockchain innovations, similar to Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust. However, it might also limit agility in high-risk investments.

OG Labs Airdrop Goes Live And Creating Buzz on CT

The 0G Foundation behind OG Labs, a decentralized AI operating system on a modular Layer 1 blockchain has officially launched its community airdrop for the $OG token, rewarding early contributors ahead of the mainnet and token generation event (TGE).

The airdrop emphasizes decentralization by allocating power to active users, with 56% of the 1 billion total supply reserved for the community including 13% specifically for OG Labs rewards, with 20% unlocking at TGE and the rest vested over 48 months.

Selected Discord role holders, OG Kaito yappers who engaged users on the KaitoAI platform. Holders of One Gravity NFTs. Completers of social quests on platforms like Intract and Galxe are qualified for the airdrop.

Surprisingly, testnet participants are not eligible for this round—rewards for them are expected in future updates tied to mainnet activity. The project has an $88 million Ecosystem Growth Program for builders, including grants and bounties.

$OG is already listed on major exchanges like Binance, Bitget, Gate.io, MEXC, KuCoin, and BingX. Allowing external capital could democratize access to YZi Labs’ portfolio, which spans crypto, AI, biotech, and robotics. This could attract institutional and retail investors seeking exposure to high-growth sectors, particularly Web3 and blockchain.

A public-facing fund might resemble models like Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, offering diversified crypto exposure with regulatory oversight, potentially boosting mainstream adoption. Transitioning from a family office to a public fund would likely require stricter compliance with U.S. and global regulations, especially under the SEC’s evolving crypto policies.

This could enhance transparency but increase operational costs and limit high-risk investments. Positive regulatory signals suggest a friendlier environment, potentially easing YZi Labs’ pivot and encouraging other crypto firms to follow.

Accepting outside capital could pressure YZi Labs to prioritize stable, high-return assets over speculative bets, potentially diluting its agility in volatile markets like crypto. Expansion into AI and biotech signals diversification, reducing reliance on digital assets and positioning YZi Labs as a broader tech investor.

Increased investor interest could drive up valuations of YZi Labs’ portfolio companies (e.g., Aptos, Polygon), boosting the broader crypto market. External investors may demand more control or quicker returns, clashing with CZ’s long-term vision.

Implications of OG Labs Airdrop Going Live

Allocating 56% of $OG’s supply to the community with 13% for rewards reinforces OG Labs’ decentralized ethos, incentivizing active ccontributors like Discord users, NFT holders over passive speculators.

Excluding testnet users from this round prioritizes real engagement, potentially setting a precedent for future airdrops to focus on quality contributions. The $88 million Ecosystem Growth Program signals long-term commitment to developers, potentially making OG Labs a hub for decentralized AI innovation.

The airdrop promotes OG Labs’ modular Layer 1 blockchain for AI, which could accelerate adoption of on-chain AI solutions. Success here might validate scalable Web3 infrastructure for AI workloads.

Excluding testnet users risks alienating early adopters, though future rewards may mitigate this. The airdrop aligns with a trend of community-driven token distributions reinforcing decentralization as a core Web3 value.

Success could draw more attention to AI-blockchain convergence, spurring competition and innovation in this niche. Both developments signal growing maturity in the crypto ecosystem: YZi Labs’ potential public fund reflects institutionalization, while OG Labs’ airdrop emphasizes community-driven decentralization.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun its courtroom battle with Amazon this week over what it calls deceptive practices surrounding the company’s moneymaker Prime subscription program, Gizmodo reports.

The trial, expected to last about a month, could redefine the boundaries of consumer protection in the digital subscription economy, with implications extending well beyond Amazon.

The FTC alleges that Amazon “tricked millions of customers” into signing up for Prime and then made cancellation deliberately complex. In court filings earlier this month, the regulator accused the company of refusing to address a “known problem,” which employees internally described as an “unspoken cancer,” fearing that simplifying the process would lead to fewer paying subscribers.

Central to the case is Amazon’s internal “Iliad” system—the cancellation flow that, according to the FTC, deters or confuses users attempting to quit Prime. The FTC says the labyrinthine mechanism misled some consumers into believing they had successfully canceled when they had not.

The lawsuit, originally filed two years ago under Biden-era FTC Chair Lina Khan, marks Amazon’s first major showdown with the agency, though another high-stakes trial is already looming. In a separate case, the FTC has filed antitrust charges against Amazon, with proceedings scheduled to begin in early 2027.

Prime remains Amazon’s golden goose. In 2023, the company earned more than $44 billion from subscriptions, which include audiobooks and music, though Prime leads the pack. Beyond that revenue, Prime members also spend heavily across Amazon’s marketplace, making them doubly valuable.

Details of the case

The FTC argues that Amazon concealed critical terms—like pricing and automatic renewals—deep in the fine print when users signed up for free trials. Shoppers lured by free shipping at checkout, for example, might not realize they were enrolling in a free Prime trial that renews automatically after 30 days.

Cancellation, too, became an ordeal. The multi-step process—internally dubbed “the Iliad,” a nod to Homer’s decade-long Trojan War—was designed to discourage cancellations. Consumers had to navigate multiple pages, with Amazon dangling exclusive offers and Prime Video teasers along the way.

In some cases, the FTC says, users were shown a banner thanking them for their membership and offering a “look back at your journey with Prime,” several steps before the cancellation was final. The FTC contends this tricked users into believing they had successfully opted out.

These practices, the FTC alleges, violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, which bans “unfair” commerce practices, and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), which requires companies to disclose all terms upfront, obtain explicit consent, and allow simple cancellation.

Amazon executives in the crosshairs

Amazon itself is not the sole defendant. Three executives—Prime Vice President Jamil Ghani, Amazon Health Services Senior Vice President Neil Lindsay, and Senior Vice President of International Consumers Russell Grandinetti—are also named.

The FTC says Ghani and Lindsay approved clarity improvements to Prime’s enrollment flow but rolled them back when sign-ups dipped. Grandinetti allegedly dismissed internal concerns about unintentional enrollments in favor of boosting Prime’s subscriber base.

Judge John H. Chun of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has already delivered a preliminary win to the FTC, ruling that Ghani and Lindsay would automatically be liable if Amazon is found guilty.

Amazon denies wrongdoing. “The bottom line is that neither Amazon nor the individual defendants did anything wrong – we remain confident that the facts will show these executives acted properly and we always put customers first,” a spokesperson told Gizmodo.

Dark patterns under fire

The FTC characterizes Amazon’s tactics as “dark patterns”—deceptive design choices crafted to manipulate user behavior. These range from confusing enrollment buttons to misleading cancellation steps.

Dark patterns are increasingly drawing global scrutiny. The European Union is preparing to address such practices through the upcoming Digital Fairness Act. Meanwhile, in the United States, the FTC under Khan pushed for a “click to cancel” rule to simplify cancellations, but the effort was struck down under the Trump administration.

Implications beyond Amazon

The FTC notes that Amazon is far from alone in complicating subscription cancellations. Many platforms—from streaming services to digital newspapers—use similar tactics to reduce churn. But Amazon, as one of the world’s largest subscription services, represents the highest-profile test case yet.

If the court sides with the FTC, it could ripple across the digital economy, forcing companies to rethink how they present sign-ups and cancellations. Consumer advocates say such a ruling could finally standardize practices and limit manipulative design.

A comparative lens

The Amazon trial echoes similar disputes unfolding globally. In Europe, regulators have taken aim at companies like Apple and Google for “dark pattern” practices around app store subscriptions, while India’s Consumer Protection Authority has begun cracking down on opaque renewal terms across e-commerce platforms.

Netflix and Spotify have also faced criticism in markets like Germany and France, where regulators required clearer cancellation processes. Compared to these cases, Amazon’s alleged tactics stand out not only for their scale—affecting millions of Prime users—but also for the internal acknowledgment that the practices amounted to a systemic issue.

That global context highlights the stakes of the Washington courtroom battle. If the FTC prevails, it would bring U.S. standards closer to those now emerging in Europe, potentially setting a new benchmark for digital subscriptions worldwide.