Katherine Ross

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



“I think the industry a year ago was messy, was very competitive,” LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino told me. But it’s been “cleared up” thanks to the friendlier environment and overall adoption.&nbsp;



Last month, the company saw $6 billion in transfers, he added, and $100 billion worth of assets were built on LayerZero.



Admittedly, Pellegrino added, he still thinks of crypto as an underdog industry, one that’s fairly small. But now that he’s regularly meeting with the BlackRocks and PayPals of the world, it might be time for a mindset shift.&nbsp;



LayerZero dominates with a whopping 75% market share, introducing a new set of challenges for Pellegrino and his team.



“It&#8217;s easy when you&#8217;re fighting for market share, because it&#8217;s very clear what you need to do. But then you get to 75% market share. And … the last 25% doesn&#8217;t seem as incrementally important,” he explained.&nbsp;



“How do we go from $6 billion a month to $100 billion a month? How do I make it so that every exchange that runs entire teams of people in the back end to deal with inventory management … you&#8217;re basically custodying these things and interacting, and how can I make it so they don&#8217;t ever need to think about that again?”



As LayerZero grows, Pellegrino noted, it’s become not just about the technology, and part of the challenge now is to make sure it’s used.&nbsp;



At the end of last week, a16z announced that it bought $55 million worth of ZRO. The VC firm has previously invested in LayerZero.&nbsp;



But what struck me about the announcement was the term length being included in the announcement. a16z Crypto partner Ali Yahya disclosed that the token purchase had a three-year lockup.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">I’m excited to announce that we’ve invested an additional $55M in <a href="https://twitter.com/LayerZero_Core?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LayerZero_Core</a> tokens (ZRO), with a 3-year lockup. Our global financial system is evolving, and it&#39;s great to see the protocol enabling many new businesses and complex workflows to move onchain. <a href="https://t.co/uyDHaSsKyR">pic.twitter.com/uyDHaSsKyR</a>&mdash; Ali Yahya | alive.eth (@alive_eth) <a href="https://twitter.com/alive_eth/status/1912899221868396869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Pellegrino told me the disclosure was part of an effort to be as transparent as possible. But it also helps to show the “extreme conviction” on a16z’s part.&nbsp;



“It&#8217;s not something that they&#8217;re thinking about in the near term. It&#8217;s something they&#8217;re thinking about for the very long term. That&#8217;s how we think about the world, and that&#8217;s how we want people to think about it. We care about what we&#8217;re building,” he added.



I asked Pellegrino what the firm planned to do with the money, and he told me it’s all about “alignment.” The firm has a 10-year runway, which showcases how Pellegrino thinks about the industry.&nbsp;



While there’s not necessarily a concern about funding in crypto, the money goes quickly for a lot of startups, and he’s worked to ensure that’s not a problem his company faces.&nbsp;



LayerZero <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/layerzero-splashes-251m-week">last raised</a> in April 2023, accumulating $120 million in a Series B round. He told me that the round was less about the money, but more about getting the right folks involved to evolve the project into a “world-class company,” which is something Pellegrino didn’t have experience with.&nbsp;



He joked that the $55M check coming LayerZero’s way won’t turn into any fancy parties, and told me that while 2021 was an “interesting” time, he’s not going to be the one to revive those days



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/daily">Blockworks Daily</a>: Unpacking crypto and the markets.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Empire</a>: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">Forward Guidance</a>: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha directly in your inbox.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Lightspeed</a>: All things Solana.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop">The Drop</a>: Apps, games, memes and more.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/supplyshock">Supply Shock</a>: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.</li>
</ul>

a16z

Inside a16z Crypto’s $55M ZRO purchase

On today&#8217;s episode of &#8220;<a href="https://youtu.be/wkd0zxTkN-E" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Empire</a>,&#8221; Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel Santos are joined by Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder of LayerZero. LayerZero is an interoperability protocol that wants to connect every contract on every chain. This is a can&#8217;t-miss episode on blockchain bridges and the future of interoperability.



They discuss how LayerZero works, how Stargate enables seamless cross-chain swaps, the flaws of synthetic/wrapped assets and why the future will be cross-chain.



Plus, hear more on:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>interoperability</li><li>being a crypto builder</li><li>how to get involved in building</li><li>and so much more!</li></ul>



Check out what they had to say in the video below.👇



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="How LayerZero Will Power A Multichain World | Bryan Pellegrino" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wkd0zxTkN-E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">About the show</h3>



&#8220;Empire&#8221; is a twice-a-week show. On Thursdays, Jason interviews crypto industry movers and shakers to talk about their struggles, bold moves and tough decisions. Friday&#8217;s weekly roundup episodes feature <meta charset="utf-8">co-host Santiago Roel Santos and cover the top news from the past week.



For any NPR or Guy Raz fans out there, you can think of &#8220;Empire&#8221; as a &#8220;How I Built This&#8221; for the bitcoin and crypto industry.



Subscribe to &#8220;Empire&#8221; today on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empire/id1554930038" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spotify</a>. Watch episodes on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvER9nHSRN3wPkrDGTT5_8VC4Hjcq0f9U" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/newsletter/?source=end" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter</a>&nbsp;now.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>