Wormhole, the cross-blockchain bridge, has officially thrown its hat into the ring to counter LayerZero’s $110 million offer to acquire the Stargate protocol. This move ignites a competitive showdown between the two entities, as Wormhole believes that LayerZero’s proposal does not present a compelling value for Stargate’s business.
The Wormhole Foundation expressed its concerns in a forum post on Wednesday, stating that a “more competitive process” is necessary after the initial bid from the LayerZero Foundation failed to gain traction among the community. Although LayerZero updated its offer, Wormhole remains poised to submit a significantly higher bid.
Wormhole’s Competitive Bid Strategy
The impending bid from Wormhole could trigger a bidding war for Stargate, a platform developed and launched by LayerZero in 2022. While LayerZero aims to bring the platform back under its umbrella, many Stargate Finance (STG) tokenholders criticized the initial offer as unfair.
In response, Wormhole has requested the Stargate community to pause the vote on LayerZero’s bid for five business days. This pause would provide Wormhole with ample time to finalize its offer, conduct thorough research, and engage with the Stargate team for a potentially improved proposal.
Wormhole’s Vision for Stargate
Wormhole has pitched its acquisition as an opportunity to form a “market-dominant ecosystem.” By combining Stargate’s deep liquidity pools and user demand with Wormhole’s extensive ecosystem integration across numerous blockchains and protocols, the potential synergy is evident.
Furthermore, Wormhole seeks to gather detailed information about Stargate’s assets, financials, user metrics, liabilities, and any ongoing legal or regulatory challenges to make an informed offer.
Community Support for LayerZero’s Updated Bid
Despite Wormhole’s moves, LayerZero has garnered support for its revised proposal, which now includes a revenue-sharing period for staked Stargate tokenholders. This update has resonated well, with 88.6% of STG holders voting in favor, representing 6.6 million tokens.
The final proposal from LayerZero offers staked tokenholders half of all Stargate revenue for six months, with the remainder allocated for a buyback of the LayerZero (ZRO) token. The proposal also aligns with the original token swap ratio of 1 STG to 0.08634 ZRO.
Some community members had previously criticized the original pitch for not offering enough incentives to STG holders and called for a 1:1 token swap ratio.
Market Reactions
The tokens associated with all three platforms, Wormhole, Stargate, and LayerZero, experienced gains amid this competitive scenario. According to CoinGecko, the Wormhole token rose by 6.3% to over 8 cents, coinciding with its forum post. Stargate’s token saw a 6% increase, peaking at over 18 cents before settling at 17 cents. Meanwhile, LayerZero’s token experienced a modest 3.6% rise to $2, reflecting broader market trends where Bitcoin and Ether also saw upward movements.
