Cross-chain king battle: Does LayerZero have a chance to challenge Chainlink CCIP?

**Written by: **@ModernEremite

Translation: Huohuo, vernacular blockchain

The introduction of CCIP bridges the gap between the crypto world and the traditional financial world, it is the missing piece of the puzzle that we all have been waiting for for a long time.

So… why haven’t you heard of it yet?

1. From zero to one

There has been a lot of talk about #CCIP, so if you want to dig deeper, here are two great tweets:

How #CCIP Works by @poopmandefi

“The Big Picture of CCIP” by @CatfishFishy

In short, CCIP is a next-generation bridge that allows communication between different ecosystems, not limited to the crypto world. All of a sudden, any other bridge becomes obsolete compared to CCIP… especially when we’re talking about seamless high-value cross-chain transfers, and everyone is looking for the highest quality of service.

@chainlink is already a fundamental part of the entire crypto world, and the more CCIP expands over time, the more value it will deliver to its clients.

#CCIP is not only innovative in terms of technology, but also significant because of Chainlink’s place in the traditional finance (TradFi) world.

The entire traditional finance space, and its notable institutions, have trusted #Chainlink to provide various blockchain-related services. Through CCIP, a range of these services can now be seamlessly integrated with the crypto world - the next frontier that traditional finance hopes to profit from.

It’s a dominant position that many covet, but there seems to be no second place, and CCIP is poised to emerge victorious.

2. Imposters

The last bull run was largely focused on the “ether killers” who were trying to overthrow Ethereum.

Time passed and we saw that no one came close to dethroning Ethereum as the primary layer 1. Now we see a similar situation with Chainlink.

@LayerZero_Labs is a direct competitor to Chainlink and its CCIP solution, but LayerZero is not king here…

In this analogy, LayerZero is another layer 1 option backed by influential VCs; the closest comparison would be #Solana or #Avalanche in 2021. Can you see Solana or Avalanche toppling Ethereum right now?

yes… neither can I…

Layer Zero Labs hit a $3 billion valuation this year… which is why its technology seems so promising to various VCs, but there’s one thing to consider.

Layer Zero is a project we have heard about in the 2021 bull run, described as a zero-to-one innovation. Everyone is talking about it, and since then, everyone has been waiting for the $ZRO airdrop to arrive.

The hype around #LayerZero is not organic - there can be no natural hype around a project that relies so heavily on VC firms. The more hyped LZ is, the greater the potential return that venture capital firms will receive when the $ZRO Token is launched. After all, someone has to be the exit liquidity for a VC firm, right?

No wonder LayerZero is covered so widely in various media.

3. Argument

Has anyone taken the time to see that LayerZero actually includes Chainlink as part of its innovation?

While LayerZero has garnered massive attention with little to no huge media exposure, Chainlink’s media exposure appears to have been extremely limited.

This might be a bit farfetched, but I’m guessing VCs already know that LayerZero has no chance to compete with Chainlink in the long term… just like Avalanche has no chance to compete with Ethereum.

LayerZero’s airdrop will be the climax of the project’s hype; once the VCs exit, no one will remember LayerZero in a few months… just like no one remembers or uses #Aptos.

In terms of its BUILD initiative, CCIP implementation, and prominence in the traditional financial world, Chainlink may be too difficult to topple, even for a project like LayerZero with strong VC backing behind it.