Cardano Integrates LayerZero in Major Multichain Expansion

Cardano is moving firmly into the multichain era with the integration of LayerZero, one of Web3’s most widely used interoperability protocols. The upgrade will connect Cardano to more than 160 blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum and BNB Chain, significantly expanding its access to liquidity and cross-chain assets.

LayerZero has processed over $200 billion in cross-chain volume, and its deployment on Cardano is being described as the largest interoperability unlock in the network’s history.

One of the next major outcomes of the Critical Cardano Integrations workstream is now in place!
The Steering Committee representing @IOGroup @Cardano_CF @emurgo_io @midnightfdn and Intersect has approved a major interoperability integration for Cardano: bringing @LayerZero_Core… pic.twitter.com/Y1A8ywos8n
— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) February 12, 2026

Stablecoins, bitcoin and DeFi liquidity open up

The integration enables assets built on LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token standard to move natively across chains using a burn-and-mint mechanism. That removes the need for traditional wrapped tokens and fragmented liquidity pools.

For Cardano users, the implications are substantial. Leading stablecoins, Bitcoin-backed assets and tokenized real-world assets that already operate across other ecosystems could become accessible on Cardano.

Crucially, this also strengthens Cardano’s DeFi landscape. Lending protocols, yield products, governance tokens and other decentralized finance primitives can now plug into Cardano while sourcing liquidity from across the broader crypto market. Stargate, one of the largest cross-chain bridges by volume, will also connect to Cardano through LayerZero.

Builders gain omnichain reach

Developers will be able to build omnichain applications that send messages and move assets across multiple networks without abandoning Cardano’s extended UTXO model. A lending platform, for example, could tap Ethereum collateral, while a decentralized exchange could draw liquidity from over 150 connected chains.

Deployment will begin with LayerZero endpoint contracts on Cardano, followed by support for compatible tokens.

For a blockchain long viewed as structurally distinct from account-based networks, the integration signals a clear shift: Cardano is positioning itself as a secure, research-driven chain with full access to the global on-chain economy.

Notably, LayerZero Labs has announced the launch of “Zero,” a new heterogeneous blockchain designed to eliminate scalability bottlenecks for global financial markets.

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