Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Azuma (@azuma_eth)
On the evening of March 12, a significant piece of news regarding Binance's financing quickly ignited the industry.
Binance officially announced that it has reached a $2 billion investment agreement with MGX, an artificial intelligence and advanced technology investment company based in Abu Dhabi,** MGX will acquire a minority stake in Binance**. This investment marks the first institutional investment Binance has accepted to date, and it is also the largest single financial investment in the history of cryptocurrency, potentially the largest investment ever made with cryptocurrency (stablecoin) as payment.
What exactly is MGX? Why is it so financially powerful, able to invest in a company of Binance's scale…
There is very little public information available on MGX's official website, but from the few announcements, we can clearly deduce the specific background of the organization.
Official information shows that MGX was established on January 22, 2024, positioning itself as a technology investment company, focusing on accelerating the development and adoption of AI and advanced technologies by establishing world-leading partnerships in the United Arab Emirates and globally. MGX focuses on investing in areas where AI can provide value and economic impact at scale, including semiconductors, infrastructure, software, technology-supported services, life sciences, and physical AI.
But this is not the main point.
Official information mentions that the chairman of MGX's board is Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan (hereinafter referred to as Tahnoun), who is also the Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and the chairman of the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Committee (AIATC).
From another perspective, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan's identity can be more clearly explained; he is the son of the UAE's founding father and first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the younger brother of the current president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (hereinafter referred to as Mohamed).
Bloomberg described Tahnoun in a 2024 report as — he oversees more than $15 trillion in state-owned assets and private funds, and for any fund manager or financial person, meeting him (even for just 10 minutes) would be a tremendous opportunity.
In terms of execution, MGX's CEO is Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, who previously served as CEO of a direct investment platform under another UAE state-owned investment company, Mubadala, and has over 30 years of operational and investment experience.
Information shows that Mubadala and another UAE state-owned company, G42, were foundational partners at the inception of MGX — Wikipedia provides a more straightforward explanation that MGX was jointly initiated by these two entities, and the chairmen of these two institutions are Mohamed and Tahnoun.
In short, MGX is a thoroughly UAE sovereign investment institution, backed by one of the wealthiest families in the Middle East, and indeed the entire planet.
Additionally, in the few announcements available from MGX, it also mentioned partnerships with several major players, including BlackRock, Microsoft, and GIP.
More details about this financing are yet to be disclosed, but according to Binance's official announcement, the current CEO of Binance, Richard Teng, previously served as the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and he may have played a key role in this financing.
In summary, with the completion of this financing, Binance's compliance process in the Middle Eastern market will open a new chapter.
Since its establishment in 2017, Binance, a startup born from the emerging cryptocurrency market, has become a giant that the mainstream world cannot ignore, alongside the rapid development of the cryptocurrency market.
An old era quietly comes to an end, but a new era has already begun.
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