Cronos Labs and LayerZero (ZRO) Announce Cross-Chain Messaging Protocol Launch on Cronos Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine (EVM) and Cronos zero-knowledge EVM (zkEVM)

Available on both the mainnet and the testnet, the protocol helps developers build cross-chain bridges, expand token ecosystems, and develop apps

Cronos Labs, the company behind the Cronos blockchain, has announced the integration of the LayerZero (ZRO) cross-chain messaging protocol on Cronos Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine (EVM) and Cronos zero-knowledge EVM (zkEVM).

The integration, which went live on January 31, will enable developers to build cross-chain bridges, expand token ecosystems, and develop applications that connect Cronos users to over 115 supported chains, including Ethereum and Solana (SOL).

According to the announcement, the launch of LayerZero on Cronos EVM, the leading EVM-compatible Layer-1 (L1) blockchain built on the Cosmos source development kit (SDK), will allow users to seamlessly transfer assets across the Cosmos ecosystem and multiple EVM chains.

On the other hand, Cronos zkEVM, the first Elastic Chain to launch in mainnet following ZKSync Era, will benefit from enhanced connectivity by maintaining its native ETH bridge while seeing faster cross-chain transfers.

It’s also worth noting that Cronos EVM is already interoperable with Cosmos SDK networks through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

“Cross-chain interoperability has been a major priority of the Cronos project since its inception,” said Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs.

“Given the significant security and liquidity challenges associated with the fragmentation of the crypto industry, Cronos Labs is executing on that priority with caution and determination. In 2025, we expect much greater connectivity between crypto projects and traditional finance. The integration with LayerZero enables that.”

Moreover, Cronos Labs is working on supporting developers to harness LayerZero’s technology to create innovative applications, such as cross-chain prediction markets, real-world assets (RWA) tokenization and synthetic asset trading platforms, cross-chain lending and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, as well as liquid staking and restaking protocols.

“Cronos zkEVM is one of the first Elastic Chains that LayerZero is expanding to,” said Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs.

“While LayerZero features are currently developer-centered, more end-user functionalities will be appearing in the near future, for example, additional cross-chain bridging options on the official Cronos bridge portals, including new CRO/zkCRO token transfers.”