LayerZero, which has grown as a cross-chain blockchain linking various blockchains, has unveiled an independent blockchain platform called Zero.

It drew attention by highlighting transaction processing on the scale of the New York Stock Exchange and security. The company said existing blockchains are structured so that all validators directly compute transactions and store data, meaning processing speeds slow and costs rise as transaction volumes increase. As a result, they have been seen as having limits in handling the large-scale transaction processing environment demanded by global financial markets.

Zero redesigns that structure. It is based on a zero-knowledge proof-based verification method and an architecture that distributes processing steps depending on the nature of transactions. This supports lowering the overall network load while maintaining transaction consistency and stability.

Zero achieved performance improvements of more than 100 times compared with existing blockchains, based on technology in 4 areas: computation, storage, network and zero-knowledge proofs. It is targeting the processing of several million transactions per second.

It incorporates FAFO, a computation scheduling technology that implements 1 million transactions per second; OMDB, a high-speed verifiable database that processes 3 million state updates per second; SVID, a network technology that supports verifiable data transmission of about 10GB per second; and a GPU-based ultra-fast zero-knowledge proof system.

Based on this, LayerZero plans to gradually expand the scope of Zero's applications beyond digital asset trading to various financial areas including derivatives markets, tokenised stocks and bonds, and real asset-based payments.

To support Zero, LayerZero formed a new advisory board. Members include Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, the largest asset manager in the United States, and Michael Blaugrund, vice president for strategic initiatives at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

Zero partners include ICE, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), hedge fund Citadel and Google Cloud. Nexpace, the blockchain subsidiary of game company Nexon, also signed a memorandum of understanding with LayerZero to flesh out cooperation related to Zero.

Jong-gyu Lim (임종규), head of LayerZero in Asia, said, "Zero is an architecture to implement in a blockchain environment the level of transaction processing and stability demanded by global financial markets, beyond the limits of existing blockchains." He added, "We will expand its scope of use across financial infrastructure."