LayerZero launches ATLAS infrastructure for institutions to run their own trading venues

LayerZero has unveiled ATLAS, a new market infrastructure designed to let financial institutions and trading platforms operate their own venues without building an exchange from scratch.

ATLAS, short for Aggregated Trading, Liquidity, and Settlement, combines trade matching, clearing, settlement, and risk management within a single system. LayerZero said the platform is designed for both open markets and institutional venues with controlled access.

Unlike a traditional crypto exchange, ATLAS will not operate its own consumer app or trading venue. Instead, platforms can use its infrastructure to run markets under their own brands, retain their users, and collect fees generated by trading activity.

Institutions can determine who is permitted to trade on their venues and apply their own market rules. Open markets can remain accessible to anyone. Both operate on the same infrastructure, allowing market makers to price assets across different venues.

ATLAS is built on Zero, the blockchain LayerZero announced in February with collaborators including Citadel Securities, DTCC, ARK Invest, and Intercontinental Exchange. Zero uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify trades onchain and is designed for high-throughput financial applications.

LayerZero said ATLAS currently delivers sub-millisecond median latency in stress tests, with 2.641 millisecond latency at the 99th percentile. 

LayerZero said ATLAS is scheduled to launch later this year. ZRO, LayerZero’s native token, rose as much as 20% following the announcement.