CEO predicts a brighter future for all as LayerZero’s market undergoes a shift.

The crypto industry is expected to have a positive future. In fact, the present situation is not as bad as it was in 2015, according to Bryan Pellegrino, the CEO of LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability protocol. Pellegrino expressed this sentiment at the Collision conference in Toronto, stating that back in 2015, nobody cared about the industry and there was nothing happening. He also mentioned that LayerZero has experienced a significant increase in the usage of its protocol, from 10,000 messages a day six months ago to 650,000 messages a day now.

Pellegrino highlighted that historically, LayerZero’s volume has been largely driven by decentralized finance (DeFi), accounting for approximately 70% of their overall volume. However, he mentioned that recently, gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have also been driving a significant portion of their inbound volume.

Pellegrino believes that the next 36 months will be different from the last 12, with many exciting developments and external parties getting involved in the industry. He emphasized the importance of LayerZero as a foundational element that will be used in various applications dependent on blockchain technology.

LayerZero recently raised $120 million in Series B funding, with participation from prominent investors such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, BOND, Circle Ventures, Christie’s, OpenSea Ventures, and Samsung Next. This funding round brought LayerZero’s valuation to $3 billion. The company also has plans to expand into the Asia-Pacific region and has integrated its messaging protocol with @zkLinkorg to facilitate omnichain trade settlement.

Overall, Pellegrino is optimistic about the future of LayerZero and the crypto industry as a whole, expecting a multichain environment to emerge where different chains coexist.