Citadel and Cathie Wood back Zero, a new blockchain desig...

What’s Happening

So get this: LayerZero launches its layer-1 blockchain Zero with partners Intercontinental Exchange and the DTCC.

As Wall Street embraces blockchain technology, the crypto industry is still dealing with an existential problem: how to grow the tech so that it can handle the massive volume created entities like the New York Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, big banks and trading firms are seeking reassurances that their sensitive client data does not appear on the public ledger of a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana. (shocking, we know)

One startup believes it has found a way to address these concerns.

The Details

On Tuesday, the Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia-backed crypto company LayerZero just dropped a proposed solution: a new blockchain called Zero designed to meet the needs of Wall Street. Recommended Video Though a slew of previous blockchain companies have purported to build TradFi-grade trading infrastructure, LayerZero is also announcing an wild array of Wall Street players who are coming on board as investors, partners, and advisors, including the market-making giant Citadel Securities as well as ARK’s Cathie Wood and Intercontinental Exchange , parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

In an interview with Fortune, cofounder Bryan Pellegrino dropped that the Zero blockchain can overcome the scaling challenge thanks to a breakthrough on a cutting-edge type of technology known as zero-knowledge proofs, which allows different parties to verify information in a privacy-preserving method. “[LayerZero] has such an expansive understanding of what’s going on in the markets,” Wood told Fortune .

Why This Matters

“fr bringing the internet speed to finance—that’s a big idea. ” Zero-day Founded in 2021, the Vancouver-based LayerZero initially focused on building technology to connect the sprawling landscape of blockchains, allowing decentralized applications to send tokens and information between different networks. The company was a darling of the last bull market, raising a $120 million funding round in 2023 from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Sequoia that valued the startup at $3 billion.

The business implications here could be significant in the coming months.

The Bottom Line

The company was a darling of the last bull market, raising a $120 million funding round in 2023 from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Sequoia that valued the startup at $3 billion.

Are you here for this or nah?