LayerZero CEO Clarifies ZRO Will Capture All Zero Network Fees

TLDR:

• ZRO becomes the only gas, staking, and fee asset across Zero, LayerZero, and Stargate infrastructure layers.
• Protocol revenue from priority fees, MEV tips, markets, and payments will all route directly into ZRO.
• Institutional buyouts removed 19.77 percent of total ZRO supply from future unlock circulation schedules.
• Public dashboards currently overstate ZRO unlock pressure by nearly twofold due to outdated supply data.

LayerZero has clarified how its ZRO token will function inside the upcoming Zero network after days of market speculation. 

The update outlines a single-asset economic design that ties protocol activity directly to ZRO. It also revises assumptions about future supply pressure from token unlocks. The disclosure arrives ahead of Zero’s planned mainnet launch later this year.

ZRO Tokenomics Anchors Zero Network Fee Structure

Bryan Pellegrino published the clarification in a post on X, addressing questions around Zero’s economic design. He stated that the project will not issue a new token for the network. ZRO will serve as the only asset across all Zero functions.

ZRO will act as both the staking and gas token inside Zero. Every transaction and message will rely on the same asset for settlement. This approach removes the need for parallel fee tokens across zones.

According to the statement, all excess fees generated from priority fees linked to state contention will route to ZRO. Tips and MEV-related revenue will also accrue to the token. The design connects congestion and execution demand directly to token value flows.

Trading fees from the markets zone and payment fees from the payments zone will follow the same model. 

Once LayerZero activates its fee switch, every protocol message will include a ZRO-denominated charge. This makes ZRO the financial endpoint for Zero, LayerZero, and Stargate activity.

Institutional Buybacks Cut ZRO Unlock Pressure in Half

Pellegrino also disclosed updated figures on institutional participation and internal buybacks. 

He said institutional purchases and early investor buyouts now represent 19.77 percent of the total ZRO supply. Most of this came from absorbing future unlock allocations.

The update challenges assumptions shown on public token dashboards. Pellegrino noted that many trackers still treat those tokens as pending unlocks. That misclassification, he said, nearly doubles the projected supply pressure.

Community members amplified the data point after the post circulated. X user Zuuu highlighted the reduction in effective unlock risk as a key takeaway. The comment gained traction as traders reassessed ZRO’s circulating supply outlook.

LayerZero confirmed that the buyouts focused mainly on early investors and upcoming vesting schedules. The move shifts a portion of expected emissions into long-term holdings. It also reshapes how market participants model future dilution.

Zero aims to launch with permissionless infrastructure for payments, markets, and messaging. By assigning all economic flows to ZRO, the protocol links network usage with a single asset. The team said mainnet remains scheduled for this fall.