LayerZero Locks Down $120M in Fresh Funding for APAC Gaming Push

The company is now valued at $3 billion

article-image

d1sk/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Blockchain messaging protocol LayerZero has secured a seven-figure fundraise backed by the likes of a16z, OKX Ventures and Sequoia Capital. 

LayerZero’s latest Series B funding round, the company said on Tuesday, resulted in a $120 million haul that included additional participation from BOND, Christie’s and Circle Ventures, among others.

The fresh fundraise follows a $135 million round that the company had secured the year prior. The company is now valued at around $3 billion on its latest capital inflows. LayerZero raised a $6.3 million Series A in 2021, Blockworks previously reported.

The cross-chain messaging protocol enables decentralized applications (dapps) deployed across multiple blockchains and allows projects to interact without the need for an intermediary — such as a cross-chain bridge.

The main idea behind the raise, according to Bryan Pellegrino, the co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, was to streamline the team’s insights and pipeline into the Asia-Pacific region’s (APAC) gaming sector. 

“From inception, [LayerZero] has been very DeFi focused in general…but we’ve also been getting a lot of inbounds from gaming and NFTs,” Pellegrino said. “We’ve been keeping tabs on where the news games are coming from, and a disproportionate amount are coming from the APAC region.”

Specifically, according to Pellegrino, there have been strong developer communities bubbling in major markets across Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. 

“For us, we just want to make sure that we’re working super closely with the studios, we want to make sure that the OFT standards are baked in by default, and we’re going to make sure localization in all of the markets,” he said.

Cross-chain messaging hits gaming

LayerZero has set its sights on the gaming market, as do many of its latest investors.

Many games that run on Web3 rails today run on application-specific blockchains, but in-game items are still bought and sold on Ethereum, Pellegrino said, because “that’s where all the liquidity is.”

Games, in other words, can be based on your own blockchain. But when it comes to selling digital assets players win in the process of playing, cross-blockchain messaging comes into play. 

“There’s a game now where you’re playing a game on this side chain, and once you kill the boss, it sends [messages] that mutates the metadata on your NFT that lives on Ethereum, and it automatically updates your Twitter profile picture,” Pellegrino said. “So, your NFTs could be evolving in real-time.” 

Pellegrino says the funding fundraise will be used to expand the LayerZero team and grow the company’s overall market presence and standing.

Later down the road, after the protocol matures, LayerZero could consider governance token airdrops — though it’s not expected to happen any time soon.

“Not right now,” Pellegrino said. “This raise is strictly for the expansion of the company.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /