TLDR
- Kraken is replacing LayerZero with Chainlink CCIP for its wrapped Bitcoin product, kBTC
- The switch follows a $292 million exploit on Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge in April 2026
- Over $3 billion in total value locked has migrated from LayerZero to Chainlink in recent weeks
- Kraken is at least the fourth project to drop LayerZero after the hack, joining Kelp, Solv, and Re
- Coinbase made the same switch to Chainlink CCIP last year for around $7 billion in wrapped tokens
Kraken has announced it will stop using LayerZero as the cross-chain infrastructure for its wrapped Bitcoin product, kBTC, and will move to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, known as CCIP.
LATEST: ⚡ Kraken has replaced LayerZero with Chainlink CCIP for its wrapped Bitcoin token after the $292M Kelp bridge exploit. pic.twitter.com/PhgnOjIor5
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) May 14, 2026
The decision comes after a $292 million exploit hit Kelp DAO in April 2026. Attackers, believed to be linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, targeted Kelp’s LayerZero-powered bridge, which was running in a single-verifier configuration.
Kraken said it chose Chainlink CCIP because it offers “enterprise-grade infrastructure with strict security and risk management requirements.”
Chainlink’s CCIP requires 16 independent node operators to validate each cross-chain transaction. It also comes with native rate limits and holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications.
Kraken’s kBTC is a 1:1 bitcoin-backed token launched in 2024. It currently has a market cap of around $260 million and roughly $333 million in total value locked, according to DeFiLlama.
The migration covers several blockchains including Ethereum, Ink, Unichain, and Optimism, with more to follow. Chainlink will also support all future Kraken wrapped assets going forward.
A Pattern of Departures From LayerZero
Kraken is the fourth major project to walk away from LayerZero since the Kelp exploit. Kelp DAO, Solv Protocol, and Re all made the same move. Together, those three protocols represent about $2.57 billion in total value locked.
A Chainlink spokesperson confirmed that over $3 billion in TVL has flowed to Chainlink in recent weeks, including a migration from Tydro, the main lending protocol on Kraken’s Ink blockchain.
LayerZero initially pushed back on claims it was responsible for the Kelp hack. The company had previously recommended Kelp upgrade to a more robust multi-signer configuration, but later accepted partial blame for poor communication.
An analysis after the exploit found that 47% of apps using LayerZero were running a single-verifier setup, the same configuration used during the Kelp attack.
LayerZero has since said it will no longer support 1/1 Decentralized Verifier Network configurations and has begun rolling out security improvements.
Industry Response
The broader DeFi community raised over $320 million through the DeFi United campaign to help restore the backing of rsETH and compensate affected users.
Coinbase made a similar infrastructure switch last year, selecting Chainlink CCIP as the sole bridge for roughly $7 billion in wrapped tokens.
Kraken’s parent company, Payward, also applied this month for a federal trust charter to become a federally chartered crypto bank.
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