Zero Just Made Blockchains 100x Better | Bryan Pellegrino & Raz Zarick
This week, Bryan Pellegrino and Raz Zarick from LayerZero join the show to discuss Zero, the 100x breakthrough in blockchain architecture. We deep dive into the Zero origin story, the roadmap for 2026, LayerZero's ultimate vision, how to build a moat in crypto, hiring top talent and more. Enjoy!
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Follow Bryan: https://x.com/PrimordialAA
Follow Raz: https://x.com/ryanzarick
Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
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Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in New York City this March! Follow the link below to grab your ticket, and use code EMPIRE200 to get $200 off your ticket!
https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-nyc-2026
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:53) The Zero Origin Story
(13:55) Zero's 100x Breakthrough
(22:10) Achieving 2 Million TPS
(32:29) Coinbase Ad
(33:14) DAS Plug
(33:40) How To Build A Moat In Crypto?
(48:05) LayerZero’s Ultimate Vision
(57:37) The Impact of AI
(01:06:25) Zero’s Roadmap In 2026
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Uneasy Money: Why Peter Steinberger and Non-Crypto People Hate the Crypto Mob
LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino joins to unpack Base's decision to leave the OP Stack, Zora's migration to Solana and more.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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MultiChain Advisors - The Growth & Capital Markets Partner You Need
Coinbase's Base is making a shock move away from Optimism's OP Stack.
In this Uneasy Money episode, LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino joins hosts Kain Warwick and Taylor Monahan to unpack whether this is the right move for Base and what it could mean for Optimism.
Beyond Base's big move, the trio also discuss Zora's Solana migration, whether Coinbase was wrong to initially pursue a super app strategy with Base App, Peter Steinberger joining OpenAI, the launch of Zero blockchain and OpenAI's EVMbench.
Will OpenAI's acqui-hiring of Peter prove to be a “generational fumble” for Anthropic? And can crypto fix its brand problem?
Also, learn why the rise of AI agents have Kain and Tay confident that open source will win in the end.
Hosts:
Kain Warwick, Founder of Infinex and Synthetix
Taylor Monahan, Security Expert
Guest:
Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs
Links:
Unchained:
Zora Shocks Base Community With Solana Pivot
BlackRock Just Chose Uniswap. The Market Didn’t Care. Here’s Why.
LayerZero Launches ‘Zero’ Layer 1 as Citadel, ARK Buy ZRO
How Zero Blockchain Cracked 2 Million TPS and Is Still Decentralized
Uneasy Money: Are Institutions Creating a New Crypto Meta?
Uneasy Money: How the Increasingly Better AI Agents Are Being Used OnchainVitalik Rethinks Ethereum’s L2 Playbook, Calls for Shift Toward Native Rollups
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How Zero Blockchain Cracked 2M TPS Without Sacrificing Decentralization
Thank you to our sponsors!
Figure
Crypto Tax Girl
LayerZero Labs is making bold promises with its coming Zero Blockchain. 2 million transactions per second per node. A thousandth of a penny per transaction. No compromises to decentralization. The big question is how?!
In this Unchained podcast episode, LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino explains how the team was able to crack scalability by fixing blockchain storage and rethinking the crypto industry's approach to zero knowledge technology.
With the blockchain already boasting partners such as Citadel Securities, DTCC and ICE, will Zero be the blockchain institutions decide to build on?
Guest:
Bryan Pellegrino, Co-founder & CEO of LayerZero Labs
Links:
LayerZero Foundation Buys Back 5% of ZRO Token Supply From Early Investors
PayPal’s PYUSD Integrates LayerZero to Expand Across Blockchains
The LayerZero/Wormhole Bidding War Shows How to Value a Crypto Business
LayerZero Fought the Sybils and Airdropped Its Token. Did the Team Win?
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LayerZero Fought the Sybils and Airdropped Its Token. Did the Team Win? - Ep. 664
LayerZero’s token claims went live on Thursday, and as with every recent airdrop, there was plenty of controversy.
In this episode, Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, joined to discuss their ambitious anti-Sybil campaign and the subsequent token distribution. He delved into the challenges of ensuring genuine user participation, the decision to offer a self-report option for Sybil attackers, and the complexities imposed by industrial-grade farmers. Bryan shared what he would have done differently and why a mandatory donation to Protocol Guild was imposed.
Also, are airdrops dead? How can the industry improve this not-so-effective distribution method?
Show highlights:
00:00 Intro
01:23 Why LayerZero launched an anti-Sybil campaign with its airdrop, and what challenges they faced in ensuring genuine user participation
04:51 Why LayerZero offered a self-report option for Sybil attackers, and how this strategy revealed both the complexities and the creativity within the crypto community
10:16 How the anti-Sybil campaign uncovered over a million fraudulent accounts
14:34 What Bryan would have done differently in their campaign
17:18 What alternative methods, such as KYC and proof-of-humanity protocols, LayerZero could have used for their anti-Sybil campaign
18:35How LayerZero navigated the cat-and-mouse game with industrial airdrop farmers
23:08 Why they decided to impose a donation to Protocol Guild to claim the ZRO token
32:07 What caused the dramatic drop in LayerZero's activity post-announcement of their anti-Sybil campaign, and why the team is optimistic despite the decline
35:23 LayerZero's plans for future airdrops
38:40 What Bryan thinks the future holds for airdrops in crypto, and how the current broken system can be improved to achieve better distribution and user engagement
42:43 Crypto News Recap
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
iTrustCapital
Polkadot
Guest
Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs
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ETH Denver Debate: Should Testnet ETH Be Free or Have a Price? - Ep. 464
LayerZero launched a testnet bridge that allows users to swap mainnet ETH for Goerli ETH (GoETH), which led to a sudden emergence of a liquid market for GoETH tokens.
This was a hugely controversial decision, as many in the Ethereum community believe that testnet tokens should remain free.
At ETH Denver, Laura moderated a panel discussion about this hot topic with Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, Greg Markou, founder of Chainsafe and Matt Garnett, software engineer for the Ethereum Foundation.
Show highlights:
why LazerZero launched a testnet bridge for Goerli ETH (GoETH)
the three reasons why Greg is opposed to Goerli ETH having a price
why Bryan believes it is impossible for a permissionless testnet to have free tokens
the three types of constituencies that use testnets
whether the Sepolia testnet solves the issues with Goerli
the upcoming Holli testnet and the problems it aims to solve
how to create a permissionless testnet that takes into account the needs of developers from all over the world
whether LayerZero’s move will create more problems in the future
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
FTSE
Halborn
Panel
Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs.
Greg Markou, founder of Chainsafe
Matt Garnett, software engineer for the Ethereum Foundation
Links:
Unchained: Goerli Testnet ETH Is Now Being Monetized
CoinDesk: Start of the End? Testnet Goerli Ether Spikes to $1.60 as Traders Jump on Opportunity Meant for Developers
LayerZero blog post: Public Goods by LayerZero.
Alchemy: What is the Sepolia testnet?
Ethereum (ETH) Developer Announces Plan To Launch New ‘Holli’ Testnet Later This Year
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
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How LayerZero Will Power A Multichain World | Bryan Pellegrino
On today's episode of Empire, Jason Yanowitz and Santiago Roel Santos are joined by Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder of LayerZero. LayerZero is an interoperability protocol that wants to connect every contract on every chain. This is a can't miss episode on blockchain bridges and the future of interoperability.
We discuss how LayerZero works, how Stargate enables seamless cross-chain swaps, the flaws of synthetic/wrapped assets, and why the future will be cross-chain.
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Links:
Bryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrimordialAA
LayerZero Website: https://layerzero.network/
Stargate Website: https://stargate.finance/
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Follow me and Santiago on Twitter, @JasonYanowitz and @santiagoroel; let us know what you thought of the show!
Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UTePv1CR3APdKOiosR3Iq?si=41bc452345b649f9
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3srZf7M
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Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction
(01:21) Why Bryan Started LayerZero
(03:51) Why Now?
(05:27) Why Does Interoperability Matter?
(07:48) A Microscience vs Monolithic Structure
(10:48) How LayerZero Works
(18:43) The Apps Now Have Control
(22:33) The Adversarial Nature of Crypto
(28:08) Moving Fast and Breaking Things in Crypto
(31:54) Fundraising
(33:01) Bitmex Ad
(34:16) Security Is Table Stakes
(36:56) Where Are We In The Adoption Phase?
(36:43) The Multichain Future
(42:43) Where Is LayerZero's Activity Today?
(44:01) Should Wrapped Assets Exist?
(47:40) Yield Seeking Capital
(50:42) The Project Bryan Is Most Excited About Outside of LayerZero
(54:23) The Challenges of Being a Crypto Builder
(58:14) What Will The Team Focus On Next?
(1:00:19) Advice For Future Founders
(1:02:52) How To Get Involved
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.