Cross-Chain communication protocol platform LayerZero has crossed 50 million cross-chain messages, as revealed by the platform on Tuesday, July 25. This significant milestone proves the massive trading activity and cross-chain token swaps that happen across several chains daily.
LayerZero’s Impressive Growth
The ‘50-million cross-chain messages’ is undoubtedly a testament to how much LayerZero has achieved in the space. Due to the project’s disruptive vision, it has received enormous backing from some of the ecosystem’s biggest Venture Capitalists (VC).
Three months ago, LayerZero raised $120 million from prominent backers like auction company Christie’s, renowned VC firms Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, Capital market company Samsung Next, OpenSea Ventures, and Circle Ventures. What is more impressive is that LayerZero was valued at $3 billion during this Series B funding round, almost three times its $135 million valuation during the funding round held back in 2022.
This remarkable feat has also come during the lingering crypto bear market when many have felt that the outlook in the industry will be negative. That is why it is easy to share the sentiments of the CEO of LayerZero Labs when he stated:
LayerZero is to blockchains what the internet was to computing clusters. LayerZero allows chains not only to build bridges (to transfer assets/value between them) but send and execute arbitrary data just like a packet on the internet. What this means is that you can now build applications that are orders of magnitude more complex than existing applications and do so with a completely seamless experience between chains.
Blockchain interoperability remains the foremost issue in the Web3 space. Furthermore, this has greatly hindered some from venturing into the space, and it is well-known that if crypto is to enjoy mainstream adoption, this issue needs to be dealt with. That is why interoperability protocols like LayerZero are key in the blockchain ecosystem.
It is common knowledge that the interoperability issue stems from how blockchains have different protocols and standards that make them incompatible. However, platforms like LayerZero bridge this gap by facilitating seamless and direct communication between different blockchain networks, making it easy for users on networks like Ethereum, Aptos, Solana, and SUI to move their digital assets across these chains.
“Wen Airdrop?”
The question of if LayerZero will carry out an airdrop has been on the lips of many members of the LayerZero community. Although the team has been tight-lipped over whether or not there will indeed be an airdrop to users, the signs are becoming more glaring that one may, in fact, be on the horizon.
With so much success in the last year and so much money raised, it is possible that LayerZero is already working on its native token. If the platform was looking to reward the users who have supported it all this time, then an airdrop would be the most likely avenue to do so. However, with no talk of even a token launch, it is hard to determine if LayerZero will conduct an airdrop.
