LayerZero (L0)

LayerZero (L0) project overview

LayerZero is the most anticipated project of the year.
The most famous project among all that InsiderClub has invested in.

Transferring a token from one blockchain to another involves a lot of technical complexity: you need to buy a token on one network, find a bridge with suitable token liquidity, create wrapped tokens, buy gas tokens for transactions on each network and pay a fee.

LayerZero solves the important problems of isolation of different blockchains by creating a new principle of interaction between smart contracts and applications from different networks so that users can easily move tokens from different blockchains.

Interaction of LayerZero with L1, L2 blockchains

One way to scale a blockchain is to divide it into so-called layers (or levels).

L1 blockchains are fundamental and, as a rule, solve problems of a “large” volume, such as providing a consensus algorithm, maintaining an inflationary model, functioning of applied programming languages, etc. L1 blockchains are self-sufficient and can carry out transactions without the participation of other networks but at the same time they cannot provide scalability speed and decentralization - some of the parameters suffer.

L2 blockchains are designed to improve the scalability of L1 blockchains. They process transactions faster and instead of L1 blockchains and then return the results of data processing to L1 blockchains.

Above are L1 blockchains, for example, Ethereum, which supports decentralized databases distributed among several network nodes or computing devices and L2 blockchains, such as Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, which scale transactions on a separate L1 blockchain.

LayerZero provides native, direct communication between any other networks, for both L1 and L2.

“ Internet and computers existed in fragmented and disparate data centersin the past, just like many of today's blockchains. LayerZero is revolutionizing blockchain by creating a single ecosystem, like the Internet, that connects each blockchain's developers and user community." Ryan Zarick, co-founder and CTO of LayerZero Labs.

LayerZero — an omnichain interoperability protocol that works by exchanging messages. The team is creating a new principle for the interaction of smart contracts and applications from different networks so that tokens can be moved between networks without difficulty.

“Our mission - is to connect all smart contracts on all blockchains.” LayerZero Team

Technology

The LayerZero network uses lightweight ZRO nodes - exchange endpoints that distribute data between other nodes and transmit information on the blockchain. Any ZRO point can interact with a similar point on another blockchain.

Applications connected to ZRO communicate with each other using a communication protocol supported by a set of smart contracts. It allows nodes to exchange messages while being on different networks, make requests to send funds and confirm the validity of the transaction.

“Imagine a future where a single user application can leverage the speed of Solana, the security of Ethereum and the low-cost file storage of Arweave. It will be possible thanks to the LayerZero protocol, which seamlessly connects all blockchains and allows the creation of chain-agnostic applications on different blockchains to create a best-in-class user experience. The days of choosing one blockchain to use are over; the future lies in omnichannel apps.” Ryan Zarick, co-founder and CTO of LayerZero Labs.

It is important to note that, unlike bridges, LayerZero only acts as a relay of messages between blockchains but never takes control of assets. This innovative approach reduces the security risks associated with bridges, minimizes the likelihood of breaches, hacker attacks and provides a more secure transaction environment.

Safety

LayerZero Labs has conducted over 35 security audits and the majority of the code written since the company's inception consists of immutable smart contracts. These contracts were subject to external audit and were thoroughly reviewed at least three times internally. Detailed information about these audits can be found in the LayerZero Labs audit repository on GitHub.

Project development

In the first year since its launch, the LayerZero protocol has shown exponential growth. It has facilitated the transmission of over two million messages across over 30 networks, secured over $7 billion in total value locked (TVL), and processed over $6 billion in transaction volume. LayerZero has implemented over 30,000 contracts on its testnet and 3,500 on the mainnet, with over 10,000 unique applications and hundreds of thousands of unique end users.

The scale of the project is also indicated by the level of their partnerships: for example, to improve the security of their internetwork environment, the LayerZero team is collaborating with Google Cloud, using their high performance and reliability, cloud infrastructure for the future of Web3 interoperability. Google Cloud will serve as a LayerZero oracle to secure messages across the network. Oracles connect blockchain platforms with external data sources to facilitate the execution of smart contracts based on genuine and relevant real-world information.

Developers who build decentralized applications (dApps) on top of LayerZero will now be able to use Google Cloud oracle to validate transactions.

Applications on LayerZero. Stargate.

A large number of projects will be released by third-party developers in the LayerZero ecosystem.
The first flagship product is Stargate, a cross-chain token exchange protocol that runs on LayerZero technology and is the most popular application on the network. It can work not only as a DEX or bridge but also facilitate the compilation of algorithms for the interaction of smart contracts from different networks to form new applications and money markets.

Thanks to the Stargate protocol, developers will be able to create DeFi applications, NFT games and much more, erasing the boundaries of blockchains and forming algorithms for the interaction of cross-chain smart contracts.

Stargate launched on seven EVM-compatible networks: Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, BSC, Fantom, Arbitrum and Optimism. In the near future, the protocol plans to add support for other networks such as Solana, Terra, Cosmos Hub and Osmosis.

Another cutting-edge solution launched under LayerZero is Polyhedra and their cutting-edge product zkBridge ($1 billion capitalization).

The following also works on LayerZero:

Omnisea — cross-chain NFT marketplace.
Omnite — allows you to convert any NFT tokens to the ONFT standard, which will allow you to transfer NFTs from one network to another.
Parakeet Bridge — is a bridge for NFTs to different blockchains using cross-chain messaging protocols from LayerZero.

LayerZero — This is not just a project; a powerful ecosystem is already unfolding around it, which has enormous potential.

Team

The LayerZero Labs team consists of 42 people who work from offices in Vancouver and Hong Kong. The company is registered in Canada.

LayerZero Labs is co-founded by CEO Bryan Pellegrino, CTO Ryan Zarick, and Chief Engineer Caleb Banister.

Previously, they worked together with Noam Brown and Facebook AI Research and had already worked on technology startups in the field of AI and published scientific research. Team members have experience working in large international companies Uber, Block.one, Goldman Sachs, and The Athletic.

Bryan Pellegrino — co-founder and CEO.
Having graduated from college, the University of New Hampshire, he became a famous professional poker player. While studying computer science in college, Bryan created a fantasy sports website, which he sold two years after launching.
His entrepreneurial career then continued, working with professional baseball teams, conducting research on machine learning algorithms and launching another successful startup before LayerZero.
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/bryanpellegrino
Ryan Zarick - co-founder and CTO.
Has experience in the field of computer networks and information technology. Before joining the LayerZero team, he worked with Pellegrino in the computer networking research lab at the University of New Hampshire. His previous experience also includes working for companies such as: 80Trill, Minimal AI, Coder Den.
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/ryanzarick
Caleb Banister - co-founder, chief engineer.
Also graduated from the University of New Hampshire. The work experience is completely identical to that of Ryan Zarick.
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/caleb-banister-240b1142

The co-founders (and friends) have known each other for a long time, which speaks of a strong and well-coordinated team; they plan to continue to develop in their key direction - improving ways to transfer data between different blockchains.

Investors

The total investment in the project is more than $260 million and is one of the largest among cryptocurrency companies and the valuation of LayerZero Labs at $3 billion immediately raises the status to the level of such market giants as the OKX exchange, Atom and Cosmos blockchains.

There are many famous, top funds among the investors: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, Binance Labs, Animoca Brands, Spartan Group, Multicoin Capital, Delphi Digital and other.

“There is no longer any doubt that the future of cryptocurrency and web3 is multi-chain. LayerZero has built the critical infrastructure that makes this possible. LayerZero already processes more transactions to and from major ecosystems than disparate single bridges. We are very happy about this. Continue to support the LayerZero team as they break down barriers between blockchains." Ali Yahya, general partner of a16z crypto.

Along with top investment funds, more than 30 well-known companies invested in the project, including: Samsung’s venture division, Christie’s auction house, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, NFT marketplace OpenSea, OKX crypto exchange and others. The participation of representatives from various fields of activity indicates the demand for the project’s solutions and their subsequent integration into a wide range of services in the Web3 segment.

“LayerZero is becoming a key infrastructure for cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by the growing number of developers and applications on its platform. We are impressed with the technical prowess of the team and are proud to deepen our partnership with LayerZero as they strengthen the crypto ecosystem.” Sean Maguire, Partner at Sequoia Capital.

Token utility

$ZRO

No official information about the release of the $ZRO token has been provided publicly. In the open codes of smart contracts, you can see that the $ZRO token is used to pay commissions: the token performs gas functions.

Our conditions: in addition to $ZRO tokens, we will also receive a $STG token.

$STG — it is Stargate's native governance token and utility token. The token can be used for staking or to provide liquidity and participate in protocol governance. For staking $STG, token holders receive $veSTG, Stargate's voting escrow token. The protocol uses a time-weighted reward system that increases the amount of $veSTG earned by stakers as they stake it for longer periods.

Tokenomics

Token ticker: $ZRO (LayerZero Token) and $STG (Stargate Finance Token)
Round evaluation: $3 billion
TGE: end of 2nd quarter 2024

Our conditions are the same as in the Series B round (ended in 2023).

Warrant (guarantee) for the ZRO token with a capital to ZRO ratio of 1:1.
Warrant (guarantee) for the STG token with a ratio to STG of 2:1.
$ZRO token price: $3.00

For every 2 $ZRO you will receive 1 $STG

$ZRO vesting: 1 year cliff, then linear unlock for two years.
$STG token price: $0.45 (on the 17th of May 2024), the token is already being traded on exchanges.

A project of this level will instantly receive a listing on all exchanges and will be traded on Binance.
A large-scale of the project is expected in the summer of 2024.

Social networks, links

🌐 Website: https://layerzero.network/

📁 Documents: https://docs.layerzero.network/

🐦 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LayerZero_Labs

💻 Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/VcqxYkStIDsyN2Rh

💻 Discord: https://discord.gg/ktbvm8Nkcr

💻 Medium: https://medium.com/layerzero-official

💻 LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/layerzerolabs

Media promotion at a high level. All social networks are conducted professionally and the community actively supports the project.
The total audience of the project exceeds a million people!
The project has 671k users on Twitter/X, 390k on Discord, and 45k on Telegram.

A large-scale infrastructure project connecting all blockchains in the industry. A very popular product in the market, a future leader, potential top 10 in the crypto industry. Well-coordinated development team, great support from top investors.
The potential of the project is incredible, the corresponding valuation is $3 billion. We certainly recommend this top project for every crypto portfolio!