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The interoperability firm is launching a new Layer 1 targeting tokenized finance, with backing from Citadel Securities and ARK Invest. Posted February 11, 2026 at 7:06 am EST. LayerZero is launching a new Layer 1 blockchain called Zero , pitching it as infrastructure built for tokenized markets and high-throughput finance. In an exclusive Unchained interview with LayerZero co-founder Bryan Pellegrino , he framed the focus bluntly: “All we care about is decentralized, permissionless, censorship resistance systems, winning at scale.” This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter . Subscribe here to get these updates in your email for free The announcement comes with notable institutional involvement. Citadel Securities and ARK Invest have made strategic investments by buying LayerZero’s ZRO token , according to the company. Citadel said it’s collaborating with LayerZero to share market-structure expertise and evaluate how the tech could fit into trading, clearing, and settlement workflows. ARK also became an equity shareholder in LayerZero, alongside its ZRO purchase. LayerZero also said Google Cloud and DTCC are partnering with the project, and Intercontinental Exchange plans to examine whether Zero could support 24/7 trading . LayerZero claims Zero’s architecture can scale to 2 million transactions per second , far faster than existing chains.