Binance Invests in Auditor, Cleans House

Binance Labs, the startup development division of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has participated in funding a platform for auditing smart contracts and blockchains, CertiK. The next day, Binance reports the first major token delisting from the platform.

CertiK helps blockchain startups to ensure the security of solutions by providing a service for their official verification. The team is already working with existing projects and helping them to make sure that there are no errors in their code that could lead to loss of user funds and other undesirable consequences.

The company was open last year, by a Yale professor Zhong Shao, also known as the creator of CertiKOS, a “certified operating system”, and Assistant Professor at Columbia University Ronghui Gu, who became co-founders.

The CertiK team uses mathematical proofs that confirm systems’ security against hacker attacks. The method includes a “pluggable proof engines”, equipment to be verified by “machine-checkable proof objects”, certified libraries of decentralized applications, and “smart labeling”. Using this method, developers claim they can make an objective conclusion about platform security.

Although Binance Labs did not disclose the amount of the investment, its representative told CoinDesk that there are several million dollars involved.

Incubator’s CEO Ella Zhang said that CertiK solves at least one blockchain space problem.

Today Binance exchange announced the first major delisting of digital assets, under which the cryptocurrency Bytecoin, Iconomi, ChatCoin, and Triggers will be removed from the listing.

Balance explained that among the criteria that the exchange is checking are the commitment of the project team, the quality and level of developer activity, network or smart contracts stability, the level of public communication and activity, the speed of responses to periodic exchanges checks, evidence of unethical or fraudulent behavior, and a contribution to the development of a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem.

What conditions were exactly violated by the developers of these coins the exchange does not specify. However, after the announcement, they all noticeably slipped in price.

The Binance investment “signals the recognition” of official verification in the blockchain industry importance, the press release says. The CertiK team has a “unique advantage” in this field, given its track record and proven technology.

According to a press release, this technology includes CertiKOS, which is already used in corporate and military programs, and one of the tools adopted by the United States Office of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Earlier at the end of September Binance Labs has announced an investment in the decentralized digital content development project Contentos. The exact amount of investment from the division of the leading bitcoin exchange was not disclosed either, but according to the media, it also amounts to “several million dollars”.

In the future, Contentos plans to improve the digital content market, in particular, to change the monetization, authentication and copyright management systems. At the moment, the blockchain platform has launched three products: LiveMe, PhotoGrid, and Cheez.

Binance Labs, created in June, intends to invest $1 billion in blockchain startups over a period of three to five years.

In total Binance Labs plan to select 20 qualified fund partners to work together in providing financial support for high-quality projects. The exchange has outlined a number of conditions for potential partners — according to a Binance representative, they must be long-term investors who believe in the crypto industry and blockchain and have more than US$100 million in assets under management.