Interop Protocol LayerZero Unveils L1 Blockchain Zero

LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability protocol, has announced the launch of a new Layer 1 blockchain, dubbed Zero, that aims to address “long-standing scalability challenges” in blockchain, according to a press release shared with The Defiant.

The new blockchain — backed by heavyweight collaborators including Citadel Securities, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Google Cloud — is positioned as core infrastructure for financial markets, rather than just another platform for crypto apps, the developers said.

Alongside the launch, LayerZero said Citadel Securities, a multi-billion-dollar market maker, is making a strategic investment in the network’s ZRO token. ARK Invest is also coming on board as a holder of LayerZero equity, as well as its native token.

The Defiant reached out to LayerZero to clarify the funding terms, but didn’t receive a response by press time.

Citadel Securities is exploring how Zero could be used across trading, clearing, and settlement workflows, per the announcement. Meanwhile, DTCC said it’s looking into using the new network for tokenized securities and large-scale collateral management.

ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, said it’s also evaluating using Zero as it adapts its infrastructure for 24/7 tokenized markets. Meanwhile, Google Cloud will be joining as a partner “to explore how to enable AI agents to make micropayments,” per the press release.

LayerZero said it has also formed an advisory board that includes ARK Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood, alongside current and former executives from ICE and BNY Mellon.

Earlier today, stablecoin giant Tether also announced a strategic investment in LayerZero, though the funding size wasn’t disclosed.

How Zero Works

At the technical level, the team behind Zero says the network employs a different approach from many blockchains, especially around consensus. Rather than requiring “every node to replicate the same work,” by validating transactions and updating the blockchain ledger, Zero uses zero-knowledge proofs to separate transaction execution from verification.

That design, combined with what the team describes as advances in compute, storage, and networking, allows Zero to potentially reach as many as 2 million transactions per second (TPS) across multiple “zones,” which the team describes as permissionless environments owned and governed by the network itself.

For context, Ethereum currently operates at around 20-30 TPS, while Solana boasts over 3,000 TPS.

According to the press release, Zero will be launched with three initial zones, including a general-purpose Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environment, a privacy-focused payments setup, and a trading-oriented zone covering multiple asset classes. The network will be permissionless, with LayerZero’s native token used for governance.

ZRO is currently trading around $1.80, flat today but up about 21% in the past 30 days.