Blockchain messaging protocol LayerZero has won the bid to acquire crypto protocol Stargate after a shaky first offer and a late four-way bidding war.

Stargate’s community voted on Sunday with a 95% majority to greenlight the LayerZero Foundation’s $110 million acquisition proposal, which it amended after holders of the Stargate (STG) token said the original deal was unfair.

Three of LayerZero’s rivals also put in last-minute bids or intent-to-bids to acquire Stargate, with one bidder, Wormhole, unsuccessfully asking for the vote on LayerZero’s acquisition to be paused.

LayerZero developed and launched Stargate in 2022, and the deal now sees the platform come back under its control. Stargate facilitates transfers across blockchains using liquidity pools that it says allow assets to be transferred natively instead of relying on blockchain bridges, which have a history of being hacked.

LayerZero claims record participation 

LayerZero co-founder and CEO Bryan Pellegrino wrote on X on Sunday that the Stargate community vote had “the highest participation of any vote” in the platform’s history.

The voting website shows over 15,000 addresses took part, with 94.76% representing 7.2 million STG tokens voting in favor, while 5.24%, or 399,400 tokens, voted against. 

“Not only did ~95% of the stake weight vote in the affirmative, but ~95% of addresses voted in the affirmative,” Pellegrino added.

Wormhole made offer for Stargate

Wormhole made an offer on Saturday after saying on Wednesday that it would “submit a meaningfully higher bid,” and that LayerZero “doesn’t create a compelling offer, which values Stargate’s ongoing business at an unreasonably low number.”

Wormhole pitched a $120 million all-cash purchase that would see stakers of Stargate’s token “receive 3x the projected revenue for the next 6 months, accelerated and paid immediately, as part of our successful acquisition.”

Axelar, Across also considered a bid for Stargate

The cross-blockchain platforms Axelar Network and Across Protocol also signalled their interest in bidding for Stargate on Sunday, with both noting that the vote on LayerZero’s bid would need to be paused.

Across co-founder Hart Lambur posted to Stargate’s forum that it’d been suggested to him that his platform submit an offer for Stargate, but he had “no interest in rushing an 11th-hour proposal, however if this process is slowed down and other bids are properly considered, Across will participate.

The Axelar Foundation posted to the forum a few hours later that it had a “strong interest” in bidding if a “competitive process” was created for the acquisition, it would pitch “a comprehensive proposal and encourage Stargate to collect all options before making a decision.”

However, Stargate Foundation lead Angus Lamps said in response to the bids that the vote on LayerZero’s bid can’t be paused, and Stargate “has been engaging with any parties” that sign a non-disclosure agreement and want to conduct due diligence.

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LayerZero’s initial proposal pitched using Stargate’s excess revenue for a ZRO buyback program, which some Stargate community members called “not attractive at all” as it didn’t offer advantages to STG holders.

It revised the offer on Sunday to give Stargate stakers half of all top-line revenue for six months, with the remaining half used to buy back its LayerZero (ZRO) token.

Under the approved deal, all circulating STG will be swapped for ZRO at a ratio of 1 STG to 0.08634 ZRO.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/layerzero-wins-stargate-acquisition-in-4-way-bidding-war/feed/ 0 54978 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/revolut-eyes-acquisition-of-us-bank-accelerates-us-license-bidding/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/revolut-eyes-acquisition-of-us-bank-accelerates-us-license-bidding/#respond Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:24:50 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/revolut-eyes-acquisition-of-us-bank-accelerates-us-license-bidding/

British Fintech and Neobank Revolut are considering acquiring US banks to accelerate their entry into the US market. According to a recent report by the Financial Times, published on July 30, 2025, Revolut is focusing on the acquisition of nationally chartered banks that already hold licenses.

If this is done, Revolut can skip the steps that often involve getting a bank license from scratch. By shortening the process of securing an independent banking charter, Revolut can simplify lending capabilities in the US market.

The report also shows that UK-based Neobank is considering applying for its own US banking license, instead of acquiring existing chartered institutions.

The British Prime Minister is pushing Revolut to end the licence “mobilization” phase.

The Bank of England says no: regulatory independence rather than fintech favors.

Revolut’s UK licensed clock expired on July 25th. I don’t see full permission. Meanwhile, the company is considering purchasing a US bank…

-Oscar Jeppesen (@Investor1fact) July 30, 2025

Revolut has been expanding the US market for some time. Currently, the largest financial market in the world, the US, is the largest financial market in the world, and is expected to increase deposits in contrast to the slowdown that many UK fintech companies are currently facing.

According to a report by the Financial Times, Trump’s push for deregulation has led investors and businesses to believe that the office of the money secretary will allow the bank’s charter process to be expanded.

As a result, Revolut carefully considers its options before making any concrete moves.

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Revolut is about to expand through the Latin American market, the Middle East

Revolut is reportedly currently in discussions about a funding round that will increase its valuation to around $65 billion, according to the Financial Times. The company will allocate some of the raised capital to promote future expansion plans.

Revolut has looked into similar acquisition opportunities in other regions as part of a broader expansion strategy, including plans to buy banks in the Middle East. Additionally, last month we confirmed the purchase of Argentine lender Seterem from BNP Paribas.

It also holds a banking license in Lithuania, which allows repetitive access to the European Union and Mexico, but the company has not yet acquired a banking license in the UK. The application was approved last year, but regulatory restrictions in the region continue to limit lending operations.

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Getting a US Bank License Rotating: You can restart Digital Asset Play

However, Revolut’s global ambitions go beyond traditional banks. The company already offers crypto trading across the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA), and last week resumed limited services in Hungary.

New Hungarian law requires crypto companies to secure domestic licenses and suspended early in the summer.

Revolut stopped encryption in the US in October 2023 amidst uncertainty from regulatory authorities. Now that perspective has changed, the pursuit of banking licensing could potentially clear the company’s path to deliver a wider range of services in the US, including digital assets.

However, it all depends on whether the application is approved or not.

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OpenSea has announced a suspension of XP rewards for bidding and listing NFTs, following criticism that the system was being exploited for high-frequency trading.

The XP system, introduced as part of the OS2 update, was designed to incentivise marketplace activity ahead of the upcoming $SEA token airdrop. However, traders quickly found ways to accumulate XP through rapid, low-cost transactions.

The pause comes after community members argued that OpenSea’s approach encouraged speculation over long-term participation. In response, OpenSea has announced a pause on XP rewards for bidding and listing whilst it reassesses its approach.

What has been OpenSea’s response?

In a statement from OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer, XP rewards for bidding and listing will be paused whilst reassessing its incentive structure. The company acknowledged the concerns but maintained that liquidity incentives remain an essential part of a competitive marketplace.

“We’ve heard the feedback on the current XP system, and we’re putting a pause on XP given directly for listing and bidding,” said Finzer. The platform will now focus its rewards programme on XP shipments, which were designed to recognise broader participation, such as buying and holding NFTs.

The second round of shipments has already been distributed, prioritising users who purchased NFTs on OS2, with additional XP multipliers given to those who have held high-volume NFT projects for over three months. OpenSea noted that future shipments would continue to reward buyers and holders, though it did not specify how frequently these rewards would be distributed.

OpenSea also pushed back against some of the criticism it received, stating that certain attacks appeared to be driven by external efforts to damage its reputation. “We’re listening closely as we build, but we won’t be bullied,” the Finzer stated.

How has the community reacted to the changes?

The decision has sparked mixed reactions, with some industry figures welcoming OpenSea’s willingness to adjust, whilst others remain sceptical about the direction of its rewards programme.

Betty, CEO and Co-Founder of DeadFellaz, supported the move but stressed that the community’s frustration stemmed from wanting OpenSea to listen and improve noting that OpenSea “still hold a lot of weight in the industry.”

Others questioned whether long-time OpenSea users and early marketplace contributors would receive adequate recognition. ARTXCODE Co-founder Toni Marinara suggested that the platform should prioritise rewarding users with activity prior to $SEA announcement if they want to “dissuade farming and reward actual loyal Opensea users.” Some users also expressed frustration over the distribution of XP shipments, arguing that newer users were being prioritised. One member questioned why “those who paid thousands in platform fees” over the years seemed to be overlooked in favour of beta testers who had only recently joined the platform.

Whilst XP rewards for bidding and listing are temporarily on hold, OpenSea has not ruled out future liquidity incentives. With the $SEA token launch approaching, OpenSea will need to refine its rewards system whilst maintaining user engagement.

As these adjustments continue, whether OpenSea strikes a balance between incentivising marketplace activity and ensuring long-term stability in the NFT space remains to be seen.