LayerZero Axes Support for 14 Chains Amid Security Concerns

LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability provider, has announced that it will withdraw off-chain support for 14 low-activity chains by September. This decision comes after the KelpDAO exploit in July, which led to one of the largest DeFi exploits in 2026 with losses totaling $292 million.

The affected networks include Cronos zkEVM, Degen, Skale Europa, Superposition, Shrapnel, and others. As a result, some assets, including stablecoins USDT and USDC, could be stranded if not moved before the full shutdown.

LayerZero has been facing increasing competition from Chainlink CCIP, which has attracted over $15 billion in assets migrating from LayerZero since the KelpDAO hack. The company's bridged volume dropped 4x from nearly 400K ETH to about 100K ETH after the exploit.