Stargate
Stargate is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol built on LayerZero that bridges native assets (USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC) and OFT tokens across 50+ blockchains using unified liquidity pools, serving DeFi users, liquidity providers, and developers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Stargate does
Stargate Finance is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity transport protocol that enables native asset bridging and omnichain token transfers across 50+ blockchain networks. Founded in March 2022 and structured as The Stargate Foundation under Cayman Islands law, the protocol is governed by the Stargate DAO via veSTG token holders and was acquired by LayerZero in 2025. Its technical core consists of the proprietary Delta algorithm and unified liquidity pools, which together solve the 'bridging trilemma' of delivering instant guaranteed finality, capital-efficient unified liquidity, and true native-asset (non-wrapped) transfers simultaneously. The V2 release introduced the Hydra mechanism to extend unified liquidity from core chains to emerging L1s and L2s by locking native assets in core pools and minting OFT representations on Hydra-enabled chains.
The protocol's product surface includes Stargate V1 and V2 routing, the OFT (Omnichain Fungible Token) token standard, single-asset Liquidity Pools, Farms for LP staking with STG rewards, a Stake module for veSTG governance escrow, a REST API for developers, and a swap interface powered by Aori Finance. Distribution is fully self-serve and product-led: users connect self-custody wallets to the stargate.finance interface and execute transfers via smart contracts, while developers integrate via the REST API or directly via smart contracts. Marketing and community support run through Discord, Telegram, Twitter/X, GitHub, and a Discourse-based governance forum.
Stargate's revenue model is a transaction-fee take rate: a 2bps (0.02%) fee is charged on every OFT transfer under a DAO governance vote, supplemented by dynamic treasury fees set per pathway by an AI Planning Module. Since the 2025 LayerZero acquisition, 100% of Stargate protocol revenue flows to ZRO token repurchases via LayerZero's Fee Switch mechanism, projected to generate $125M+ annualized protocol revenue. Customer segments span three primary use cases: liquidity providers (yield earners depositing into pools and farms), DeFi users and traders (cross-chain asset movers), and developers/protocols (integrators of the OFT standard and API).
Stargate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stargate
- Legal name
- The Stargate Foundation
- Website
- https://stargate.finance
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stargate is a decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol built on LayerZero that bridges native assets (USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC) and OFT tokens across 50+ blockchains using unified liquidity pools, serving DeFi users, liquidity providers, and developers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stargate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-Chain Bridge Protocol
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Token Bridges & Asset Wrapping (lock/mint, burn/mint, canonical bridges) (FSAPAKAB)
Keywords
Where Stargate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stargate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- OFT Transfer Fees: Every OFT transfer through Stargate is subject to a 2bps (0.02%) fee as mandated by the DAO governance vote. Fees may be charged as treasury fees or rewards depending on route type (Pool vs Hydra OFT).
- Treasury Fees and Rewards: Dynamic fees set by AI Planning Module on a per pathway basis. When sending tokens from Pool instances, Stargate can either charge treasury fees or reward users for transfers. Hydra OFT transfers may charge treasury fees without rewards. Treasury fees are capped and managed through the Treasurer contract.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard OFT transfer fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Stargate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stargate is a fully composable cross-chain liquidity transport protocol built on LayerZero messaging infrastructure that enables users to bridge native assets (USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC) and OFT-compliant tokens across 50+ blockchain networks through unified liquidity pools. It supports two transfer modes (Taxi for speed, Bus for cost efficiency), provides instant guaranteed finality without wrapped tokens, and exposes a REST API plus web interface for direct wallet-based transfers and protocol integrations.
Product overview
Stargate Finance is a decentralized cross-chain asset transfer protocol built on LayerZero, offering unified liquidity pools for seamless bridging of native assets (USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC) and OFT-compliant tokens across 40+ blockchain networks. The product portfolio consists of Stargate V1 (original Delta algorithm-based routing), Stargate V2 with Hydra mechanism (extended liquidity to newer chains), and the Stargate API. Users can provide liquidity through Pools and Farms to earn rewards, stake $STG for veSTG governance tokens, and access a swap interface powered by Aori Finance. The protocol prioritizes instant guaranteed finality, capital efficiency, and native asset transfers without wrapped tokens.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Stargate Stake: Yield mechanism allowing users to stake STG tokens and receive veSTG voting power for governance participation.
- Stargate Farms
- Stargate Pools
Products and services
- Stargate V1 Original native asset transfer mechanism leveraging the Delta (Δ) algorithm and unified liquidity pools to deliver instant guaranteed finality for same-asset bridging across connected chains without wrapped tokens. Targeted at DeFi users, developers, and protocols needing reliable cross-chain liquidity.
- Stargate V2 Optimized native routing infrastructure building on V1 principles with enhanced performance and efficiency, including the Hydra mechanism for extending unified liquidity access to newer chains. Designed for DeFi users, liquidity providers, and protocols needing composable cross-chain routing.
- Stargate API Stateless, non-custodial REST API providing a unified interface for developers and protocols to initiate cross-chain asset transfers, abstracting protocol-layer complexity behind endpoints for quotes, chains, and tokens. Targeted at developers building omnichain applications and protocols seeking programmatic integration.
Quantifiable outcome
- No serious security issues since inception
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Stargate
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Stargate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature7 records
Stargate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- B.AI (Sun Yuning/Justin Sun)minorB.AI, an AI-era financial infrastructure platform, announced a 'Clone Brain' feature on LayerZero/Stargate ecosystem. The platform aims to address challenges existing payment systems face in adapting to AI Agent development, with on-chain payment auto-settlement and privacy protection.
- LayerZerocoreLayerZero serves as the underlying omnichain messaging protocol powering Stargate's native V1/V2 routes and OFT Route. Stargate is built directly on LayerZero's messaging infrastructure for secure cross-chain communication between connected blockchains. This is a foundational, core technology partnership essential to Stargate's operation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stargate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Across Protocol: Across is an optimistic-based cross-chain bridge that focuses on fast, low-cost transfers between Ethereum and major L2s. It directly competes with Stargate for retail cross-chain volume, especially on EVM-to-EVM routes where settlement speed and fees matter most.
- Hop Protocol: Hop is a scalable rollup-to-rollup and L1-to-L2 bridging protocol using a Bonder network to provide fast transfers. It directly competes with Stargate on EVM-centric cross-chain routes, focusing on L2-to-L2 transfers and fast withdrawals.
- Axelar: Axelar is a universal interoperability platform providing cross-chain message passing and asset transfer via a proof-of-stake validator network. It competes with Stargate/LayerZero as a competing interoperability stack, supporting general message-passing and cross-chain bridging.
- Wormhole: Wormhole is a leading cross-chain interoperability protocol connecting dozens of blockchains through a generic message-passing layer. It directly competes with Stargate in the cross-chain bridge category, particularly for native and wrapped asset transfers across EVM and non-EVM chains.
- Synapse Protocol: Synapse is a cross-chain bridge and liquidity network offering asset swaps and transfers across multiple chains via its Synapse Bridge. It competes with Stargate in the cross-chain bridging and unified-liquidity space, particularly for stablecoin and ETH bridging.
- deBridge: deBridge is a cross-chain interoperability and liquidity protocol enabling asset transfers and arbitrary message passing between blockchains. It is a direct competitor to Stargate, targeting similar cross-chain bridging volume across EVM and non-EVM networks.
Broad incumbents
- Circle CCTP: Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol provides native USDC movement across chains via burn-and-mint mechanics and is integrated within Stargate as a specific route. It is a competitor on USDC-specific routes and a complement on others, representing the issuer-led approach to cross-chain stablecoin liquidity.
- LayerZero: LayerZero is the omnichain messaging protocol that powers Stargate's underlying communication layer and acquired Stargate in 2025. As the parent messaging infrastructure and ZRO token issuer capturing 100% of Stargate revenue, LayerZero is the structural counterparty and complementary infrastructure provider for Stargate.
Emerging players
- Socket: Socket is a chain-abstracted interoperability protocol aggregating bridges and DEX liquidity for cross-chain asset transfers. It competes with Stargate at the aggregation layer, routing user transfers through competing bridges including Stargate itself.
- LIFI: LI.FI is a cross-chain bridge and DEX aggregation protocol providing routing across bridges and DEXs for any-to-any asset swaps. It competes with Stargate indirectly as a bridge aggregator that can route flows to or around Stargate depending on pricing and route availability.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stargate social profiles
Digital presenceStargate compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Stargate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stargate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Stargate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stargate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stargate
What does Stargate do?
Stargate is a fully composable cross-chain liquidity transport protocol built on LayerZero messaging infrastructure that enables users to bridge native assets (USDC, USDT, ETH, BTC) and OFT-compliant tokens across 50+ blockchain networks through unified liquidity pools. It supports two transfer modes (Taxi for speed, Bus for cost efficiency), provides instant guaranteed finality without wrapped tokens, and exposes a REST API plus web interface for direct wallet-based transfers and protocol integrations.
Is Stargate a public or private company?
Stargate is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Stargate founded?
Stargate was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stargate based?
Stargate is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Stargate make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. OFT Transfer Fees are the primary driver. The others are treasury Fees and Rewards.
Who are Stargate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Across Protocol, Hop Protocol, Axelar, Wormhole, Synapse Protocol and deBridge. Broad incumbents are Circle CCTP and LayerZero. Emerging players are Socket and LIFI.
Does Stargate have an API?
Yes. Stargate provides a unified REST API for cross-chain token transfers between supported networks. The API is non-custodial, stateless, and provides transparent transaction data for independent verification. Key endpoints include: GET /quotes for cross-chain transfer quotes, GET /chains for supported blockchain networks, and GET /tokens for supported tokens. The API returns ordered transaction steps for client-side signing and submission. Rate limits exist and users should contact support for assistance. Note: The Stargate API is being deprecated in favor of the new LayerZero Value Transfer API (https://transfer.layerzero-api.com/v1/docs). Developer documentation is at docs.stargate.finance/developers/api-docs/overview.
What industry is Stargate in?
Stargate's product category is Cross-Chain Bridge Protocol. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAKAB, Token Bridges & Asset Wrapping (lock/mint, burn/mint, canonical bridges). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.