Crypto billionaires are leveraging their wealth to pioneer a new paradigm in science, called "decentralised biotech".

Just last month, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao revealed that he has personally donated $10 million worth of BNB tokens to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s open-source biotech initiatives.

According to Buterin, their shared mission is to harness blockchain principles to drive transformative progress in critical scientific fields.

This recent contribution builds upon prior investments made by Zhao’s family office, YZi Labs, which has also backed similar biotech projects.

With an estimated net worth of $65 billion, Zhao described his donation as a modest effort to advance biotech innovation, inspired in part by Buterin’s vision.

Vitalik Buterin’s Vision for Decentralized Biotech

Vitalik Buterin advocates for something he calls "decentralised biotech", which infuses blockchain principles such as transparency, open source development, and privacy into the scientific work that would benefit the general public.

Buterin highlighted how the current medical field, especially in the field of biotech, is often monopolised by giant corporations.

This allows these giant corporations to create products and treatment with profit in mind, resulting in negative outcomes for potential users.

But blockchain technology can reverse all these negative practices. For example, zero-knowledge proofs could enable public health authorities to monitor epidemics while safeguarding individual privacy.

Simultaneously, independent researchers could rapidly develop open-source vaccine protocols and portable air quality testers, accelerating responses to future pandemics and saving lives.

Moreover, Buterin highlights crypto’s unique capacity to fund public goods through community-driven mechanisms.

Drawing on this, he has personally contributed millions to his biotech fund, primarily using proceeds from memecoin investments.

This emerging synergy between crypto and biotech signals a promising shift toward more inclusive, transparent, and effective scientific innovation.