Wormhole Challenges LayerZero with Higher Bid for Stargate

The Wormhole Foundation has entered a bidding war for cross-chain protocol Stargate, directly countering LayerZero's $110 million acquisition offer. Wormhole argues LayerZero's proposal undervalues Stargate's robust treasury, growing protocol volume, and expanding ecosystem. The foundation has requested a five-day pause in Stargate's ongoing Snapshot vote to prepare a superior bid.

LayerZero's existing offer involves $110 million in ZRO tokens, absorption of all Stargate protocol revenue and assets, and dissolution of the Stargate DAO. Community voting on this proposal began earlier this week with a scheduled closure on August 24, 2025. The emergence of Wormhole's competitive bid introduces new uncertainty into the acquisition process.

This confrontation between two major cross-chain interoperability platforms highlights the intensifying competition for dominance in blockchain infrastructure. The outcome could significantly reshape the landscape of cross-chain asset transfers and protocol governance.