LayerZero Launches ‘Zero’ Blockchain Backed by Citadel, ICE and DTCC

LayerZero Labs has unveiled a new blockchain project called Zero, designed to power institutional-grade financial infrastructure, with strategic backing from Citadel Securities, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), DTCC, and others.

Key Takeaways

• LayerZero launched its high-performance blockchain “Zero”, claiming speeds of up to 2 million transactions per second and major scalability breakthroughs.
• Citadel Securities, ICE, and DTCC are collaborating with LayerZero to explore tokenization, 24/7 trading, and post-trade settlement.
• ARK Invest, Tether Investments, and Google Cloud are also supporting the initiative, with Cathie Wood joining the advisory board.
• The ZRO token will power governance and interoperability across Zero’s zones and 165+ connected blockchains.

What Happened?

LayerZero Labs officially introduced Zero, a next-generation blockchain built to eliminate the scalability limits of current decentralized networks. The announcement came with news of strategic investments from major financial players, including Citadel Securities, which also invested in ZRO, the network’s native token.

The move signals a growing institutional belief that blockchain infrastructure is finally mature enough to support real-world trading, clearing, and settlement systems at scale.

Wall Street Backs the Blockchain

The launch of Zero marks a major shift in how traditional financial institutions approach blockchain. Once cautious and experimental, organizations like Citadel, ICE, and DTCC are now actively collaborating to develop blockchain-based systems.

• Citadel Securities is working closely with LayerZero to assess how Zero’s architecture could handle high-performance trading workflows.
• DTCC, the backbone of U.S. securities settlement, said it will explore how Zero can enhance tokenization and collateral services.
• ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, is investigating applications of Zero for 24/7 trading and tokenized collateral systems.

According to Frank La Salla, DTCC’s President and CEO, speed and scale have always been barriers to mainstream blockchain use. He emphasized that Zero could deliver “collateral mobility, new trading modalities, and programmable assets” with security and legal robustness.

Zero’s Architecture: A Technical Leap

Zero is not just another fast chain. It introduces a heterogeneous architecture, meaning not all nodes have to process every transaction. This breaks from the traditional model where all nodes replicate the same workload, which has limited blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.

Zero combines:

• Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs).
• A new execution-verification separation using Jolt.
• Optimized storage, compute, and networking systems.

The result is a system that reportedly offers:

• ~2 million transactions per second (TPS).
• ~100,000 times faster performance than Ethereum.
• ~500 times greater throughput than Solana.
• Transaction costs close to a millionth of a dollar

Three initial zones will launch in fall 2026:

• A general-purpose EVM environment.
• A privacy-focused payments zone.
• A specialized trading venue for financial institutions.

Heavy Hitters Join Advisory and Investment

LayerZero has attracted top-tier industry leaders:

• Cathie Wood (ARK Invest CEO), Michael Blaugrund (ICE), and Caroline Butler (ex-BNY Mellon) are now part of its advisory board.
• Tether Investments and ARK Invest have invested in both LayerZero equity and the ZRO token.
• Google Cloud is exploring how Zero could support AI agents making blockchain-based micropayments, enabling machine-driven economies.

Cathie Wood said:

CoinLaw’s Takeaway

In my experience watching blockchain infrastructure evolve over the last decade, Zero might be the most ambitious institutional-grade project yet. What stands out is not just the technical wizardry, but who’s getting involved. Citadel, ICE, and DTCC don’t just dabble. Their involvement tells me they see real utility, not just hype.

The idea that this chain can handle millions of TPS and be the bedrock for global settlement systems is huge. If even part of this vision pans out, we could be witnessing the beginning of Wall Street’s real pivot into blockchain. Personally, I’m excited to see what happens when these zones go live in 2026.

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