A fierce battle is underway for control of Stargate, a leading cross-chain protocol, as Wormhole Foundation challenges a $110 million acquisition offer from LayerZero.
LayerZero had proposed acquiring Stargate’s assets—including over $92 million in stablecoins and other holdings—in exchange for its own ZRO tokens. However, this proposal has been met with criticism from community members who believe it significantly undervalues Stargate’s fast-growing business and its future revenue streams.
Wormhole has now entered the fray with a counter-proposal, calling on the Stargate community to pause the current vote for five days. This delay would allow Wormhole time to finalize its due diligence and present a higher, more competitive bid. The foundation argues that Stargate’s strong performance, which includes processing $4 billion in bridge volume in July and integrating with over 80 blockchains, justifies a stronger valuation.
The potential merger between Wormhole and Stargate could create a powerful new force in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Wormhole believes that combining Stargate’s proven adoption and liquidity with its own wide ecosystem reach would lead to increased bridge volumes, higher fee revenue, and greater value for everyone involved.
The result of this bidding war could be one of the most significant mergers in DeFi history, reshaping the future of cross-chain interoperability.
August 2025, Cryptoniteuae
