Andreessen Horowitz Deepens LayerZero Investment with $55M Purchase, Sending ZRO Token Higher
LayerZero’s ZRO token experienced a strong price surge on Thursday after Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) confirmed it had increased its investment in the blockchain interoperability protocol.
The venture capital firm’s crypto division purchased an additional $55 million in ZRO tokens, committing to a 3-year lock-up period, according to an X post by Ali Yahya, general partner at a16z. This follows a long history of a16z’s support for LayerZero Labs, which included participation in the company’s $135 million Series A funding round in 2022 and $120 million Series B round in 2023.
Following the news, ZRO surged by 10%, reaching a high of $2.56 before retracting slightly. The token maintained a 5% gain for the day, outperforming the CoinDesk 20 Index and Bitcoin (BTC), which also posted gains.
LayerZero enables cross-chain communication, allowing different blockchains to interact via messages. It currently supports 125 blockchains and has facilitated over 145 million cross-chain messages, with $75 billion in value transferred. The protocol’s technology powers prominent projects like PayPal’s stablecoin, DeFi platforms such as Ethena and Pendle, and has been selected to support Wyoming’s state-backed stablecoin project.
The new funding will enable LayerZero to extend its scope beyond interoperability, focusing on developing solutions for token issuance, data management, governance, and database improvements, according to company officials.
