What is Stargate Finance (STG)?

Deep Dive

1. Acquisition & New Token Structure

In August 2025, the LayerZero Foundation successfully acquired Stargate Finance for $110 million (Cointelegraph). This merger retired STG as a standalone governance token. Holders can convert STG to LayerZero's ZRO token at a fixed rate of 1 STG = 0.08634 ZRO, indefinitely. This action dissolved the Stargate DAO and tied STG's future value directly to the performance and utility of the ZRO token within the unified LayerZero ecosystem.

2. Omnichain Bridging Technology

Stargate functions as a liquidity layer, solving a key challenge in decentralized finance (DeFi) known as the blockchain trilemma—balancing decentralization, security, and speed. It uses liquidity pools on connected chains (like Ethereum, Arbitrum, and BNB Chain) to allow users to transfer and swap native assets across networks almost instantly, without relying on traditional, often riskier, bridges (CoinMarketCap). This design aims for guaranteed transaction finality and optimizes capital efficiency for DeFi.

3. Token Utility & Evolution

The STG token was originally the native governance and utility token. Users could stake STG to receive veSTG (voting escrow tokens), which granted governance rights and a share of protocol revenue. Following the acquisition, this direct value accrual to STG ended. For six months post-merger, veSTG holders received 50% of protocol revenue, with the other 50% funding ZRO buybacks. After February 2026, all Stargate bridge revenue is directed toward ZRO buybacks, shifting all long-term utility to the ZRO token.

Conclusion

Stargate Finance has evolved from a standalone cross-chain bridge into the core liquidity infrastructure for the LayerZero ecosystem, with its token's destiny now mathematically linked to ZRO. How will its deep integration shape the future of omnichain interoperability and liquidity?