Cross-Chain Bridge Protocol Stargate Partners With Metis for More Efficient Interoperability

Cross-chain bridge protocol Stargate Finance integrates with Ethereum layer 2 platform Metis, to enable more flexible and secured cross-chain applications for users.

The partnership is being pitched as a way to allow Stargate - a protocol built by LayerZero Labs - to give projects more flexibility when building decentralized finance (DeFi) applications across different blockchains.

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“Stargate’s expansion to Metis will leverage LayerZero technology to enable greater flexibility for projects to manage their funds, treasury, and yield strategies,” the company said in a statement.

Stargate had about $350 million total value locked (TVL) as of Jan. 18, according to Defilama. The protocol currently supports seven blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche and Polygon. Metis will be the first new chain supported by Stargate since it initially launched in March 2022.

LayerZero is a communication protocol that aims to make it easier for applications on different blockchains to securely interoperate and swap funds.

With its Stargate integration, Metis, the Ethereum scaling platform, will gain the ability to swap Tether USD (USDT) between other Stargate-supported blockchains – a group which the cross-chain bridging protocol says will continue to expand.

LayerZero is among a handful projects aiming to avoid the pitfalls of traditional cross-chain bridges, the typical (and oft-exploited) method of swapping assets between blockchains. Almost 50% of the attacks affecting cross-chain bridging protocols in the DeFi ecosystem occur on cross-chain bridges, Stargate said in the statement, citing recent studies.

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“LayerZero upgrades cross-chain composability by delivering seamless, secure messaging across blockchains to empower developers to build richer, more user-friendly applications,” according to the statement.

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