LayerZero Launches Testnet For Newly Announced V2 Iteration

LayerZero, the popular cross-chain messaging protocol, has unveiled its forthcoming v2 iteration.

On Dec. 14, LayerZero launched a testnet for its v2 upgrade. The revamped protocol will focus on streamlining third-party development, bolstering security, and improving throughput.

“V2 [makes] security easier to configure, increasing throughput, and minimizing liveness concerns through permissionless infrastructure roles,” said Bryan Pellegrino, Co-Founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs. “If you’re building on LayerZero, it’s because you don’t want to trust others, it’s because you trust yourself.”

Key improvements featured in the v2 upgrade include the introduction of “unified semantics,” allowing dApp developers to build applications “that work the same across every blockchain LayerZero has an endpoint on.”

Builders can also configure a customized security stack and select from multiple third-party Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs) to bolster decentralization. LayerZero noted that anyone can now permissionlessly operate as a DVN, with prominent web3 infrastructure providers including Google Cloud, BlockDaemon, and Nethermind pledging to provide DVN services when v2 launches on mainnet.

LayerZero argues that bolstering the decentralization of its DVN infrastructure addresses criticism levied at the project emphasizing that its security was ultimately guaranteed by a two-of-two multisig account.

LayerZero also claims v2 will unlock the maximum throughput of destination chains by “verifying messages sequentially while permitting out-of-order execution” through “lazy nonce-order enforcement.”

LayerZero’s 2023 rise

LayerZero’s v2 announcement follows a big year for the project.

In April, the team raised $120M at a $3B valuation in a Series B funding round, tripling LayerZero’s valuation from its previous raise 13 months ago.

Last week, LayerZero announced plans to launch and distribute a long-awaited token during the first half of next year. Airdrop opportunists have long eyed LayerZero as a likely candidate to introduce a token, with LayerZero-based transactions tripling after Arbitrum’s $1B airdrop in March.

LayerZero-based applications also emerged to prominence this year, Stargate currently ranking as the most active bridge over the past 24 hours with $25M worth of volume, according to DeFi Llama. Stargate also ranks third by bridged volume for the past week and month behind the Arbitrum Bridge and ZkSync Era Bridge.