Venture capital firm a16z Crypto has acquired an additional $55 million worth of LayerZero’s native token, ZRO, according to an announcement on X.
The newly purchased tokens will be subject to a three-year lockup period, demonstrating the firm’s long-term commitment to the project.
The move builds on a16z’s previous backing of LayerZero, having led both the Series A+ and Series B funding rounds.
General Partner Ali Yahya described LayerZero (ZRO) as critical infrastructure for a new onchain financial system, noting that the protocol enables new business models and complex workflows to operate across blockchain networks.
I’m excited to announce that we’ve invested an additional $55M in @LayerZero_Core tokens (ZRO), with a 3-year lockup.
Our global financial system is evolving, and it’s great to see the protocol enabling many new businesses and complex workflows to move onchain. pic.twitter.com/uyDHaSsKyR
— Ali Yahya | alive.eth (@alive_eth) April 17, 2025
LayerZero positions itself as a foundational layer for interoperability, comparing its role to that of TCP/IP for the internet. It allows developers to build applications that function seamlessly across multiple chains.
The protocol currently supports over 125 blockchains, facilitates 70% of stablecoin interoperability, and has processed more than 140 million messages and $75 billion in volume.
The announcement underscores growing investor confidence in infrastructure projects that enable cross-chain functionality. As blockchain adoption expands, LayerZero aims to become the default messaging protocol for connecting fragmented ecosystems in crypto.
On the news, ZRO jumped over 10%, according to CoinMarketCap data.
