About

LayerZero is an omnichain interoperability protocol that lets applications send arbitrary data, function calls, and tokens between blockchains through immutable endpoint contracts deployed on each supported chain. Each application configures its own security by choosing a set of Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs) and executors, and token issuers use its Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard to issue a single asset natively across many chains. The protocol is developed by LayerZero Labs, while the LayerZero Foundation administers ZRO governance and operates the Stargate bridge.

History

LayerZero Labs was founded in 2021 by Bryan Pellegrino (CEO), Ryan Zarick (CTO), and Caleb Banister, who became friends working in the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Lab and had partnered on several businesses before LayerZero. The three began writing the protocol's code in early 2021, and the company is headquartered in Vancouver.

Their original whitepaper, dated May 2021, introduced the Ultra Light Node design: an endpoint contract on each chain validates incoming messages by pairing a block header delivered by an independent oracle with a transaction proof delivered by a relayer, so a message is accepted only if two independent parties agree. The founders positioned this as achieving the security of an onchain light node at the cost of a middle-chain approach, without routing messages through an intermediary chain. Following the protocol's beta launch, the LayerZero Labs team launched Stargate in March 2022, a cross-chain liquidity transfer protocol built on LayerZero's messaging layer.

LayerZero V2, live on mainnet since January 2024, replaced the fixed oracle-and-relayer pairing with a modular security stack. Each application selects its own set of Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs) and an X-of-Y-of-N verification threshold, while anyone can run an executor to deliver messages. Developers build on standards such as OApp and the Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT), which lets an issuer deploy one token natively across every chain with a LayerZero endpoint (documentation). The ZRO token, with a total supply of 1 billion, launched in June 2024 and gives holders a vote every six months on whether to activate a protocol fee of up to the cost of verifying and executing each message, with collected fees converted to ZRO and burned.

In February 2026, LayerZero Labs announced Zero, a Layer-1 blockchain that uses zero-knowledge proofs so that not every validator has to re-execute every transaction, positioned as infrastructure for trading, clearing, and settlement. Citadel Securities, DTCC, Intercontinental Exchange, and Google Cloud were named as collaborators at announcement, and LayerZero said the network would launch no earlier than September 2026.

Other significant events in the protocol's history include:

• May 2021: The founders publish the original LayerZero whitepaper.
• September 2021: LayerZero Labs raises a $6.3 million Series A co-led by Binance Labs and Multicoin Capital, bringing total funding to $8.3 million including an earlier $2 million seed round.
• March 2022: Stargate launches on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Fantom.
• March 2022: LayerZero Labs raises $135 million in a Series A+ co-led by Sequoia Capital, a16z, and FTX Ventures at a $1 billion valuation.
• April 2023: LayerZero Labs raises $120 million in a Series B from 33 investors with no lead, at a $3 billion valuation.
• January 2024: LayerZero V2 goes live on mainnet, introducing DVNs and permissionless executors.
• May 2024: The LayerZero endpoint goes live on Solana in mainnet beta.
• June 2024: The LayerZero Foundation launches ZRO and opens claims for 85 million ZRO (8.5% of supply) to about 1.28 million eligible wallets. Claims require a Proof-of-Donation of $0.10 per ZRO to Protocol Guild, with the Foundation matching up to $10 million.
• December 2024: The first fee switch referendum leaves the protocol fee off; the referenda in June 2025, December 2025, and June 2026 have the same outcome.
• August 2025: The Stargate DAO approves the LayerZero Foundation's roughly $110 million acquisition of Stargate with nearly 95% of votes. The DAO is dissolved, STG becomes swappable at 0.08634 ZRO per STG, and future excess Stargate revenue is directed to ZRO buybacks.
• February 2026: LayerZero Labs announces Zero. Citadel Securities makes a strategic investment in ZRO, Tether makes a strategic investment in LayerZero Labs, and ARK Invest's Cathie Wood joins a newly formed LayerZero advisory board.