LayerZero has begun charging fees on cross-chain transfers and plans to use excess revenue to buy back ZRO tokens, linking protocol usage with token demand. The move adds a concrete monetization mechanism to a revenue thesis endorsed by Cathie Wood, ARK Invest’s CEO, and Lorenzo Valente, ARK’s director of research for digital assets, who said LayerZero’s interoperability business could reach nine-figure annual recurring revenue. LayerZero relays verified messages between otherwise disconnected blockchains and supports more than 170 networks. An ARK paper using data through June credited LayerZero with $280 billion in cumulative value transferred and 44% of cross-chain volume in the first half of 2026, although Circle’s CCTP held 41% and Chainlink markets a competing service through CCIP. ZRO traded near $1.04, down about 6% on the day, with a market value of $368.7 million, despite a roughly 36% monthly gain. Around September 19-20, 23.6 million ZRO tokens were also referenced in connection with the token’s supply, although the available update does not provide the associated dollar value. ARK discloses financial interests in LayerZero Labs and ZRO, while Valente described the revenue view as his own assessment rather than an official firm forecast.