Kraken Abandons LayerZero for Enhanced Security

Kraken, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has made a significant move by switching its wrapped Bitcoin product, kBTC, from LayerZero to Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). This decision follows a major exploit on Kelp DAO's LayerZero-powered bridge in April 2026, which resulted in a loss of $292 million.

The switch is part of a growing trend, as several projects have opted out of using LayerZero since the incident. Kelp, Solv, and Re are among those that have made the transition to CCIP, representing over $2.57 billion in total value locked. Chainlink has seen an influx of new users, with over $3 billion in total value locked migrating to its platform in recent weeks.

Kraken cited 'enterprise-grade infrastructure' and 'strict security and risk management requirements' as the reasons for choosing CCIP. The protocol requires 16 independent node operators to validate each cross-chain transaction, providing enhanced security and reliability. This move is expected to have a positive impact on Kraken's wrapped assets, with Chainlink set to support all future kBTC migrations.