Stargate’s community has officially approved a takeover by the LayerZero Foundation, ending weeks of heated debate over the bridge protocol’s future.
Nearly 95% of voters supported the proposal, which dissolves the Stargate DAO and swaps its native STG tokens for LayerZero’s ZRO at a conversion rate of 1 STG = 0.08634 ZRO, valuing the deal at roughly $120 million.
The agreement marks a turning point for the LayerZero ecosystem, giving it direct access to Stargate’s user base and revenue streams. To sweeten the deal, LayerZero revised its terms before the vote, promising that veSTG holders will still receive half of Stargate’s revenue for six months. After that, all profits will be directed toward ZRO token buybacks and burns.
Rival Bidders Enter the Fray
The final stretch of voting was disrupted by a surprise move from Wormhole Foundation, which countered LayerZero with a $120M cash bid in USDC. The funds were reportedly parked in a segregated wallet to prove seriousness, with Wormhole urging Stargate to pause the process and consider alternatives.
Their intervention sparked further interest. Both Axelar and Across hinted they would also join the race if given time to prepare, suggesting Stargate could have triggered a multi-party bidding war had the process been extended.
Across co-founder Hart Lambur argued it would have been in holders’ best interests to slow down:
“If other bids are properly considered, Across will participate. I don’t believe rushing benefits anyone.”
The Axelar Foundation echoed the same view, saying it would put forward a proposal if Stargate opened a competitive process.
LayerZero Celebrates Landmark Deal
Despite the last-minute turbulence, Stargate’s tokenholders closed the vote in LayerZero’s favor on Saturday night. Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs, called the acquisition a milestone for both the project and the broader industry:
“Stargate gives us a direct line to end-users, an immediate revenue-generating asset, and the ability to accelerate value transfer across chains. This is the infrastructure LayerZero has been building toward for years.”
The foundation went further, branding the move as one of the first private DAO acquisitions in crypto history worth over $100 million — a precedent that could reshape how decentralized organizations are valued and absorbed in the future.
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Source: https://coindoo.com/layerzero-secures-120m-deal-to-absorb-stargate-dao-amid-rival-bids/