Andreessen Horowitz Invests $55M in LayerZero’s ZRO Token, Boosting Interoperability Protocol’s Growth
LayerZero’s native token (ZRO) saw a significant surge on Thursday following the announcement that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) had increased its investment in the interoperability protocol.
The venture capital firm acquired an additional $55 million in ZRO tokens, with a commitment to a 3-year lock-up period, as revealed by a16z general partner Ali Yahya in an X post. This follows a long-standing partnership between a16z and LayerZero Labs, the development firm behind the protocol. Andreessen Horowitz had previously backed the company’s $135 million Series A funding round in 2022 and its $120 million Series B round in 2023.
ZRO jumped by 10% to $2.56 after the news broke, though it later gave back some of the gains. The token was still up about 5% on the day, outpacing broader market movements, including the CoinDesk 20 Index and Bitcoin (BTC).
LayerZero is a critical infrastructure protocol that enables seamless communication between different blockchains through cross-chain messaging. It currently supports 125 blockchains, has processed over 145 million cross-chain messages, and facilitated $75 billion in value transfers. LayerZero’s technology also powers major projects such as PayPal’s stablecoin, the DeFi platforms Ethena and Pendle, and was chosen as the partner for Wyoming’s stablecoin initiative.
The latest investment will allow LayerZero to expand its focus beyond interoperability, aiming to enhance token issuance, data management, governance, and database improvements.
