Ryan Zarick is the CTO and co-founder of LayerZero, a cross-chain interoperability platform that enables developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) that work seamlessly across multiple blockchains. ^[6]

Education

Zarick graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BS in Computer Science in 2009 and an MS in Computer Science in 2011. As a student, he worked in the UNH InterOperability Lab as a tester and a graduate research assistant alongside Bryan Pellegrino and Caleb Banister. ^[1]

Career

At UNH, Zarick co-founded Coder Den, a software consulting firm, with Pellegrino and Banister. After graduation, he served as CTO of Buzzdraft, an online fantasy sports website, until March 2013. In January 2018, he co-founded 80Trill, a smart contract writing, testing, and auditing company, where he worked until March 2020. He also co-founded Minimal AI with Pellegrino, and in February 2021, they co-founded LayerZero Labs. ^[1]

Interviews

Quick Merkle Database

In July 2025, on the How Things Work podcast, host Patrick O’Grady interviewed LayerZero’s Zarick, Issac Zhang, and Thomas Kim. They discussed the Quick Merkle Database (QMDB) and the Fast Ahead-of-Formation Optimization (FAFO). They introduced the research team at LayerZero, which aimed to enhance decentralization in blockchain technology, emphasizing the importance of permissionless, censorship-resistant, and immutable systems. The conversation explored how QMDB, employing a log-based approach instead of traditional data structures, achieved significant efficiency in disk utilization and throughput, reaching up to a million transactions per second. They also detailed how FAFO's architecture optimized parallel processing by simulating transactions, using a unique polling system to minimize conflicts and maximize throughput while ensuring that the fundamental properties of blockchains were respected. The hosts concluded by reflecting on the ongoing research and potential applications of their findings, advocating for an accessible, decentralized future in blockchain technology. ^[7]

LayerZero & Stargate

In an interview with White Crypto at TOKEN2049 2023, Zarick discussed his crypto background and LayerZero’s Stargate bridge. He discussed his journey into the crypto space after building and selling a previous company with his co-founders. They identified flaws in existing blockchain bridging solutions and developed LayerZero, which allows for a decentralized communication protocol between blockchains using an ultra-light node approach for security. They also implemented Stargate, a composable asset bridge that enhances cross-chain transactions. Zarick emphasized a strong investment in security, with substantial funding allocated for audits and bug bounties. Highlighting the importance of stability in the bear market, he expressed commitment to building tools that enhance the developer experience and interoperability across chains. The team's future plans included support for new blockchains based on developer demand, maintaining a focus on high-quality design and rigorous security standards throughout the development process. ^[2]

Presentations

Interop on Solana

On LayerZero’s Endpoint podcast in January 2025, Bryan Pellegrino and Zarick led a discussion with Matt Sorg of the Solana Foundation, focusing on Solana’s architecture and its potential for interoperability with other blockchains, while emphasizing the technical innovations that set the network apart. The conversation centered on the efficiency of Solana's on-chain order book and its global execution capabilities, facilitated by the proof of history mechanism, which ensures synchronization among nodes. Participants also discussed the challenges and trade-offs faced while evolving Solana's system, particularly regarding the integration of LayerZero technology for cross-chain communication. They highlighted the importance of adaptable infrastructure to accommodate diverse use cases, ranging from decentralized finance to NFTs, emphasizing the need for permissionless execution and scalability in the blockchain ecosystem. Overall, they envisioned a future where Solana serves as a primary hub for liquidity and transactions, streamlining exchanges across various platforms while maintaining a focus on performance and user experience. ^[8]

Panels

Cross-Chain Security

Zarick's presentation on LayerZero's cross-chain security emphasized the necessity of robust cross-chain messaging protocols for blockchain applications. He highlighted the importance of composability among applications across different blockchains, noting that no single chain can meet all application needs. Zarick detailed the risks associated with cross-chain messaging, such as client diversity, smart contract upgradeability, and user application vulnerabilities, and explained how LayerZero mitigates these through immutable contracts and optional library upgrades. He also introduced a security feature called "pre-crime," which allows applications to define invariants that prevent potential hacks during the asynchronous messaging process. ^[3]

Omnichain Security

Zarick presented “Pre-Crime: The Future of Omnichain Security” at the DeFi Security Summit 2022. He focused on two primary risks: protocol upgrade risk and user application risk. He highlighted how smart contract upgrades can reset their security, making systems vulnerable, and emphasized the dangers of bugs in user applications built on messaging infrastructures. To mitigate these risks, LayerZero Labs introduced "Library upgrades," allowing applications to opt-in to new updates at their discretion, and "Pre-Crime," a technology that preemptively simulates and validates transactions on forked chains to prevent exploits. These approaches aim to enhance security and reliability in cross-chain communication. ^[4]

The Multichain Future

“The Multichain Future” panel at TOKEN2049 Singapore 2022 discussed the future of a multi-chain ecosystem, highlighting the importance and challenges of interoperability between different blockchain networks. Key speakers included Zarick from LayerZero Labs, who explained LayerZero's protocol for cross-chain communication, and Hart Lambur from UMA, who introduced their optimistic oracle system. The conversation covered the trade-offs between different chains regarding speed, security, and use cases and the potential evolution toward applications operating across multiple chains. Richard Muirhead from Fabric Ventures emphasized the need for clear use cases and the ongoing uncertainty in predicting which multi-chain configurations will dominate. The panel underscored the early stage of this technology and the importance of developing flexible, user-friendly solutions that can adapt to the emerging blockchain landscape. ^[5]