Wormhole Foundation challenges LayerZero’s $110M Stargate acquisition proposal

Wormhole Foundation (WF) entered the bidding contention for Stargate Finance, challenging LayerZero’s projected $110 cardinal acquisition.

In an Aug. 20 statement via X, WF argued that LayerZero’s connection importantly undervalues the cross-chain span protocol.

LayerZero Foundation announced its acquisition connection connected Aug. 10, offering to acquisition each circulating STG tokens astatine $0.1675 per token done a swap for ZRO tokens. 

The connection requires support from STG holders done Stargate’s governance process, with a 70% support threshold needed for passage.

Wormhole Foundation contended that LayerZero’s bid fails to bespeak Stargate’s existent value, citing the protocol’s treasury holdings and caller show metrics.

Further, Wormhole shared that Stargate maintains implicit $92 cardinal successful treasury assets, including $76 cardinal successful stablecoins and $16 cardinal successful Ethereum, portion demonstrating important maturation momentum.

Performance drives valuation dispute

On-chain information shows that Stargate processed $4 cardinal successful span measurement during July 2025, representing a 10x year-over-year increase. As of Aug. 20, it had $348 cardinal successful full worth locked (TVL) crossed much than 80 chains.

According to the Wormhole Foundation:

“STG holders merit better. The existent bid undervalues the protocol’s assets, brand, codebase, and team.” 

The WF added that these fundamentals warrant a “meaningfully higher offer” than LayerZero’s projected valuation.

LayerZero Foundation defends its pricing, noting Stargate’s backing of $0.14444 per circulating token compared to its trading terms of $0.1637 per token astatine connection time. It added that based connected its calculations, the connection represents a premium connected some metrics.

Differences beyond offers

LayerZero positions the acquisition arsenic ecosystem consolidation, noting Stargate’s established infrastructure and idiosyncratic base. The instauration plans to nonstop each aboriginal Stargate excess gross toward ZRO token buybacks portion expanding the protocol’s mandate beyond accepted bridging services.

In addition, LayerZero argued that unified governance would destruct assets conflicts betwixt perchance competitory protocols.

At the aforesaid time, Wormhole Foundation projected an alternate imaginativeness combining “Stargate’s unified liquidity pools with our wide ecosystem of integrations.” 

The instauration said this attack would make “higher volumes, higher revenues, and greater stickiness,” benefiting some STG and W token holders. It besides requested a five-business-day suspension of the ongoing connected LayerZero’s connection ballot to let clip for owed diligence and bid preparation. 

The governance ballot requires a 1.2 cardinal veSTG token quorum with 70% support for LayerZero’s connection to pass. The connection was amended to supply further compensation for veSTG stakers done six months of gross distribution.

The amendment happened pursuing disapproval astir the adjacent attraction of locked versus unlocked tokens.

The station Wormhole Foundation challenges LayerZero’s $110M Stargate acquisition proposal appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.