Kraken, one of the oldest and largest crypto exchanges, announced today it will deprecate its LayerZero bridges and upgrade to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the exclusive cross-chain infrastructure securing Kraken Wrapped Bitcoin (kBTC) and all future wrapped assets.
As the industry’s most decentralized and resilient oracle platform, Chainlink has facilitated over $30 trillion in transaction value and has been officially recognized by the White House as critical infrastructure for the onchain economy. CCIP maintains the highest level of cross-chain security, backed by a separate Risk Management Network, and is the only interoperability solution to achieve ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 attestation.
CCIP’s Cross-Chain Token (CCT) standard allows developers on supported networks to turn any ERC-20-compatible token, such as kBTC, into a CCT with additional security and reliability benefits including configurable rate limits, self-serve deployments, and zero-slippage transfers.
kBTC is a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed, ERC-20 wrapped token that enables the use of native Bitcoin for lending, borrowing, and trading on various DeFi applications across multiple networks including Ink, Ethereum, Unichain, and Optimism. By adopting CCIP and the CCT standard to bridge kBTC into the multi-chain economy, Kraken ensures every cross-chain bridge lane is secured by at least 16 high-quality, security-reviewed, independent node operators.
Kraken is among numerous protocols, representing a combined TVL of more than $3 billion, that have recently migrated from LayerZero to CCIP after a LayerZero exploit resulted in nearly $300 million in losses across DeFi.
Last week, reinsurance protocol Re transitioned from LayerZero to CCIP to secure its depository token, reUSD. Liquid restaking protocol Kelp upgraded to CCIP to secure its liquid restaking token, rsETH. PayFi network Huma Finance adopted CCIP as the exclusive bridging solution for its core yield product, PST, and all future yield products. Solv, the largest Bitcoin staking protocol, is also deprecating its LayerZero bridges and making the switch to CCIP.
“Kraken’s unwavering commitment to uncompromising security aligns perfectly with principles that shaped CCIP’s architecture,” said Chainlink Labs’ Chief Business Officer, Johann Eid, who recently appeared on The Rollup to outline how Chainlink’s node architecture and economic incentives ensure security by default.
“By deprecating its legacy infrastructure and adopting CCIP, Kraken is ensuring its assets can move seamlessly across networks while maintaining the institutional-grade security that enterprises require to bring significant capital.”
To learn more about Kraken, visit their website, X, Telegram, and Discord.