Citadel Securities and Ark Invest acquire ZRO as LayerZero unveils Zero blockchain and partners with Google Cloud, DTCC

LayerZero said it is launching a Layer 1 blockchain named Zero and has secured strategic backing from Citadel Securities and Ark Invest, which both acquired the protocol's native ZRO token, with Ark also taking an equity stake. The firm additionally announced partnerships with Google Cloud and DTCC, while Intercontinental Exchange plans to evaluate how the Zero chain could support 24/7 trading. LayerZero claims Zero introduces a heterogeneous architecture capable of handling up to 2 million transactions per second with performance far exceeding Ethereum and Solana.