LayerZero Launches ATLAS Exchange Engine to Power Trading Venues

LayerZero Unveils ATLAS, a Backend Engine for Trading Venues

LayerZero, a company that connects different blockchains, has launched ATLAS, an exchange engine designed to power trading platforms. Unlike typical exchanges, ATLAS has no user interface of its own. Instead, it provides the technology for other companies to build trading venues on top of it.

The engine handles matching trades, clearing, settlement, and risk management. It supports various types of markets, including cryptocurrencies, stocks, commodities, and prediction markets. ATLAS is built on LayerZero’s Zero blockchain, which is still in development and not yet live for public use.

LayerZero’s ZRO token, which is used within its ecosystem, rose 12.5% on the day of the announcement, reaching $1.29. The token has gained 63% over the past week but remains down 83% from its peak in December 2024.

How ATLAS Works and Its Fee Structure

ATLAS splits trading fees between the trading venues, market creators, and ZRO token buybacks. Here’s how it works:

• Trading venues (the platforms using ATLAS) keep between 20% and 65% of the trading fees, depending on how much ZRO they stake and the volume they generate.
• After the venue takes its share, 25% of the remaining fee goes to the market creator (the entity that defines what is being traded).
• The final 75% is used to buy and burn ZRO tokens, reducing the total supply.

LayerZero states this model removes incentives for traders to bypass venues and trade directly against the exchange.

Two Versions of ATLAS

ATLAS comes in two configurations:

• Open ATLAS: Designed for crypto-native applications and prediction markets.
• Institutional ATLAS: Allows institutions to set their own rules for the markets they operate.

Both versions use the same underlying technology but cater to different users.

Performance Claims and Current Status

LayerZero claims ATLAS can handle up to 200,000 transactions per second at launch. In a test environment, it reported sub-millisecond latency, with 95% of transactions processed in under 1.418 milliseconds and 99% in under 2.641 milliseconds. However, these figures come from testing, not a live deployment.

No launch date has been announced for ATLAS, and LayerZero’s Zero blockchain is not yet operational on its main network.

ZRO Token Performance and Recent Buybacks

The ZRO token has seen significant price movement following the ATLAS announcement. After hitting an all-time low of $0.71 on July 31, it climbed to $1.29 on August 25, a 63% increase over the week. Despite this rally, ZRO remains down 83% from its December 2024 peak of $7.47.

LayerZero has conducted buybacks in the past. In September 2025, it repurchased 50 million ZRO tokens from early investors, and in November 2025, it spent $10 million on another buyback. The ATLAS engine is part of LayerZero’s long-term plan to tie ZRO’s value to trading volume on its platform.

LayerZero’s Zero Blockchain and Past Security Issues

ATLAS is built on LayerZero’s Zero blockchain, which was announced in February 2025. Zero is designed to separate execution from verification, using zero-knowledge proofs to improve efficiency. It claims to support over 1.2 million transactions per second in a single block producer setup. However, Zero has not yet launched on its main network.

LayerZero’s security record has faced scrutiny. In April 2026, an exploit on the Kelp rsETH bridge resulted in a $292 million loss. LayerZero later reported that the bridge’s security had been downgraded from a two-of-two to a one-of-one verification system before the attack. The company now requires a minimum of three-of-three verification by default.

Sources

• The Defiant