LayerZero unveils trading infrastructure for crypto and tokenized markets, ZRO surges

LayerZero, the blockchain infrastructure firm that has been working with financial heavyweights like DTCC, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Citadel Securities, is moving deeper into trading infrastructure to serve as the backend for exchanges and other platforms offering crypto and tokenized assets.

ATLAS, short for Aggregated Trading Liquidity and Settlement, combines trade matching, clearing, settlement and risk management in one system built on Zero, LayerZero's blockchain announced earlier this year.

Markets could range from spot crypto and perpetual futures to stocks, bonds, commodities and prediction markets, LayerZero said in a Tuesday press release.

Trading around $1 earlier in the session, LayerZero's ZRO ZRO $ 1.0684 token surged more than 30% on the plans.

The launch comes as stablecoins and tokenization put more financial assets onchain, raising the question of where those assets will trade. LayerZero argues that existing market infrastructure, with separate systems for matching, clearing and settlement, isn't built for assets that can move around the clock.