LayerZero

LayerZero is an interoperability protocol that lets smart contracts on different blockchains send messages to each other. Rather than moving assets through a conventional bridge that holds funds in a contract, it provides a messaging layer that applications build on top of, which can be used for token transfers but also for governance votes, state synchronization, and any other cross-chain instruction.

The protocol works by having a contract on the source chain emit a message, which is then delivered to the destination chain by two independent parties: an oracle that reports the block header and a relayer that supplies the transaction proof. Because these roles are separate, both would need to collude to deliver a fraudulent message, and applications can configure which providers they trust rather than accepting a single default.

Omnichain applications

The design allows what the project calls omnichain applications, where a single application spans many chains and treats them as one environment. The omnichain fungible token standard lets a token exist natively across chains rather than as wrapped representations, avoiding the fragmented liquidity that wrapped assets create.

LayerZero is deployed across a very large number of networks, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base.

The ZRO token

ZRO has a maximum supply of one billion tokens, all issued as total supply, with roughly 353 million currently circulating. The token was distributed by airdrop in 2024 through a process that required claimants to donate a small amount per token, an unusual approach intended to filter out sybil farming.

Cross-chain messaging remains one of the most security-sensitive areas in the industry, and the configuration choices applications make about which verifiers to trust materially affect their risk.