LayerZero, a blockchain messaging protocol, officially acquired crypto protocol Stargate in a $120 million deal after a dramatic last-minute bidding war. The transaction follows an amendment of the original proposal, which Stargate token holders had accused of being unfair.
The Stargate community voted overwhelmingly in favor, with 95% of participating addresses and 94.76% of token weight supporting the acquisition. More than 15,000 addresses took part, representing over 7.2 million STG tokens in favor, while only 5.24% of tokens, around 399,400 STG, voted against the deal.
LayerZero Co-Founder and CEO Bryan Pellegrino called it “the highest participation of any vote in StargateFinance history,” highlighting strong community engagement.
Rival Bidders Try Last-Minute Offers
Earlier, three rivals tried to secure Stargate, including Wormhole, which offered $120 million in cash, claiming it would give stakers 3x the projected revenue for six months upfront.
Axelar Network and Across Protocol also signaled interest but ultimately did not submit formal bids. Stargate Foundation lead Angus Lamps stated the vote could not be paused, as all interested parties had access to due diligence under non-disclosure agreements.
Updated Offer Benefits Token Holders
The original proposal by LayerZero suggested a revenue-based ZRO buyback program, but the community has requested changes to the plan, 50% of top-line revenue over a six-month period will be paid out to Stargate stakers, with the other half being used to buy back ZRO tokens. Under the approved terms, all circulating STG tokens will be swapped for ZRO at a ratio of 1 STG to 0.08634 ZRO.
LayerZero, launched in 2022, has Stargate, which allows cross-chain transfers to happen through liquidity pools, so assets can move natively without being dependent on blockchain bridges that are vulnerable to attacks. Through this acquisition, Stargate will once again be under the full control of LayerZero, with the promise of greater security and further cross-chain innovation.
The acquisition demonstrates the increasing impact of LayerZero in the field of blockchain interoperability, with high community trust and 95% approval ratings on key protocol decisions.
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Correction: Deal valuation changed to $120 million from $110 million as LayerZero team contacted The Crypto Times and clarified about the deal.
