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Bridge review

Stargate review

Liquidity bridge on LayerZero — pools of USD stablecoins and ETH on each chain, with Hydra lock-and-mint for chains without native pools

Snapshot Cartoon avatar of Arnold BurnBy Updated Data gate passed · 24 routes / 7 d

Key findings

Stargate Finance is a liquidity bridge for USD stablecoins and ETH built on LayerZero: you deposit into a pool on the source chain and are paid from the matching pool on the destination chain, with LayerZero messages and DVNs verifying the transfer. Taxi mode sends immediately; Bus mode batches users to share messaging cost. Since June 2026 the CreditMessaging owner can change pool credits without LayerZero verification, and has used that power on 1 and 16 October 2026.

As of 3 Nov 2026, 11:35 UTC (run #540), StargateV2 (Fast mode) returned quotes on 21 sampled routes (63 quote rows in this packet). At $200 it was the cheapest ranked quote on 0 routes. Median cost among its non-negative $200 quotes: 100.29 bps (cheapest observed 88.84 bps). Sources reporting it: LI.FI. Real-money tests: none yet — planned after launch.

Source: upswap.io snapshot #540 · CC BY 4.0 · Zenodo DOI: Example / pending

How does Stargate work?

Stargate keeps pools of the same asset (e.g. USDC, ETH) on each supported chain. When you transfer, your tokens enter the source pool and a LayerZero message, verified by the configured DVNs and delivered by an executor, releases tokens from the destination pool. Pools keep credits for each remote pool, managed by the CreditMessaging contract (L2Beat).

Taxi (Fast) sends your transfer on its own; Bus (Economy) batches transfers on the same pathway and splits messaging costs (Stargate docs). For chains without native pools, Hydra locks assets on the source and mints a representation on the destination.

Scorecard (no total score)

Cost excl. gas

100.29
median bps · n=21

Coverage

21
routes this packet

$200 wins

0
cheapest finishes

Quote rows

63
all tiers

Real transfers

0
not enough data

Upgrade / custody

—
待核实

How much does StargateV2 (Fast mode) cost on each route?

336 runs · 7 d

Over the last 7 days StargateV2 (Fast mode)'s median $200 cost ranged from 88.81 bps (OP Mainnet → Base ETH) to 159.58 bps (Base → Ethereum USDC); it was the cheapest bridge in 1 route-runs.

StargateV2 (Fast mode): $200 cost distribution by route (7 days)Per route: whisker = min to max, box = 25th to 75th percentile, thick tick = median of this bridge's cheapest rankable $200 quote per run, 336 runs. Amber rows: this bridge was cheapest on the route at least once. Log scale, bps, excl. gas.1002005001,0002,0005,000bpsOP Mainnet → Base ETH89OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One ETH89Base → Arbitrum One ETH89Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet ETH90Arbitrum One → Base ETH90OP Mainnet → Base USDC92Arbitrum One → Base USDC93Base → Arbitrum One USDC94Base → OP Mainnet USDC94Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH99Ethereum → Base ETH100Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETH101Ethereum → Avalanche C-Chain USDC105Ethereum → Base USDC105Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDC106Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDC106BNB Chain → Arbitrum One USDT108Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDT109Arbitrum One → BNB Chain USDT109Ethereum → BNB Chain USDT119Base → Ethereum ETH155Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETH156Arbitrum One → Ethereum USDC159Base → Ethereum USDC160
StargateV2 (Fast mode): $200 cost distribution by route (7 days)Per route: whisker = min to max, box = 25th to 75th percentile, thick tick = median of this bridge's cheapest rankable $200 quote per run, 336 runs. Amber rows: this bridge was cheapest on the route at least once. Log scale, bps, excl. gas.1002005001,0002,0005,000bpsOP Mainnet → Base ETH89OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One…89Base → Arbitrum One ETH89Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet…90Arbitrum One → Base ETH90OP Mainnet → Base USDC92Arbitrum One → Base USDC93Base → Arbitrum One USDC94Base → OP Mainnet USDC94Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH99Ethereum → Base ETH100Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETH101Ethereum → Avalanche C-Cha…105Ethereum → Base USDC105Ethereum → Arbitrum One US…106Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDC106BNB Chain → Arbitrum One U…108Ethereum → Arbitrum One US…109Arbitrum One → BNB Chain U…109Ethereum → BNB Chain USDT119Base → Ethereum ETH155Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETH156Arbitrum One → Ethereum US…159Base → Ethereum USDC160
StargateV2 (Fast mode): $200 cost distribution by route (7 days)Per route: whisker = min to max, box = 25th to 75th percentile, thick tick = median of this bridge's cheapest rankable $200 quote per run, 336 runs. Amber rows: this bridge was cheapest on the route at least once. Log scale, bps, excl. gas.1002005001,0002,0005,000bpsOP Mainnet → B…89OP Mainnet → A…89Base → Arbitru…89Arbitrum One →…90Arbitrum One →…90OP Mainnet → B…92Arbitrum One →…93Base → Arbitru…94Base → OP Main…94Ethereum → OP…99Ethereum → Base100Ethereum → Arb…101Ethereum → Ava…105Ethereum → Base105Ethereum → Arb…106Ethereum → OP…106BNB Chain → Ar…108Ethereum → Arb…109Arbitrum One →…109Ethereum → BNB…119Base → Ethereum155Arbitrum One →…156Arbitrum One →…159Base → Ethereum160
Per route: whisker = min to max, box = 25th to 75th percentile, thick tick = median of this bridge's cheapest rankable $200 quote per run, 336 runs. Amber rows: this bridge was cheapest on the route at least once. Log scale, bps, excl. gas.
StargateV2 (Fast mode): $200 cost distribution by route (7 days)
RoutenMinP25MedianP75MaxCheapest runs
OP Mainnet → Base ETH33385.9188.2688.8189.6491.210
OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One ETH32386.8888.5088.9990.67290.210
Base → Arbitrum One ETH32786.8588.4889.0190.63290.180
Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet ETH32585.5489.4589.8690.2091.330
Arbitrum One → Base ETH33185.9189.6690.2590.6191.780
OP Mainnet → Base USDC32990.3491.9992.4894.0595.640
Arbitrum One → Base USDC33190.3692.0192.5294.0895.680
Base → Arbitrum One USDC32991.7793.4693.9995.57295.230
Base → OP Mainnet USDC32889.9493.4494.2594.6695.910
Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETH33496.9698.8499.48101.36103.170
Ethereum → Base ETH33497.8499.75100.40101.76103.580
Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETH31798.68100.59101.22103.07302.400
Ethereum → Avalanche C-Chain USDC33497.41104.36105.19107.19109.260
Ethereum → Base USDC33597.71104.56105.22106.30108.220
Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDC32198.54105.44106.13107.61302.490
Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDC33196.83104.93106.38106.90108.360
BNB Chain → Arbitrum One USDT56107.24107.73107.94108.19109.000
Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDT93105.36107.97108.71109.09110.030
Arbitrum One → BNB Chain USDT94108.04108.72109.17109.40110.090
Ethereum → BNB Chain USDT334116.62118.58119.20121.07122.950
Base → Ethereum ETH331149.69152.28155.47160.717,855.030
Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETH319152.11153.97156.29161.975,667.981
Arbitrum One → Ethereum USDC321154.04155.97159.37165.091,954.290
Base → Ethereum USDC326154.51157.04159.58165.122,413.030

Where does StargateV2 (Fast mode) win at $200?

StargateV2 (Fast mode) best $200 quote by route
RouteVia sourcebpsRoute leader
OP Mainnet → Base ETHLI.FI88.84Celer 1.50
Base → Arbitrum One ETHLI.FI88.95Layerswap 0.45
OP Mainnet → Arbitrum One ETHLI.FI89.04Layerswap 0.40
Arbitrum One → OP Mainnet ETHLI.FI90.21Celer 1.92
Arbitrum One → Base ETHLI.FI90.65Eco 1.23
Arbitrum One → Base USDCLI.FI92.46Eco 0.00
OP Mainnet → Base USDCLI.FI92.56Eco 0.00
Base → Arbitrum One USDCLI.FI93.97Eco 0.00
Base → OP Mainnet USDCLI.FI94.85Eco 0.00
Ethereum → OP Mainnet ETHLI.FI99.38Layerswap 0.35
Ethereum → Base ETHLI.FI100.29Across 1.17
Ethereum → Arbitrum One ETHLI.FI101.14Layerswap 0.16
Ethereum → Base USDCLI.FI105.26Eco 0.00
Ethereum → Arbitrum One USDCLI.FI106.16Eco 0.00
Ethereum → OP Mainnet USDCLI.FI107.02Eco 0.00
Ethereum → Avalanche C-Chain USDCLI.FI107.75NEAR Intents 1Click 0.40
Ethereum → BNB Chain USDTLI.FI119.10Across 1.20
Base → Ethereum ETHLI.FI151.17Eco 1.70
Base → Ethereum USDCLI.FI156.10Eco 0.00
Arbitrum One → Ethereum ETHLI.FI157.00Eco 1.53
Arbitrum One → Ethereum USDCLI.FI158.87Eco 0.00

What are the risks of using Stargate?

sources checked 2026-10-24

Each item links to its source (L2Beat, DefiLlama or official docs). Items we could not verify are marked 待核实. No overall score.

  • Message verification

    Transfers are as safe as the LayerZero DVN configuration of each pathway. On 2026-10-16 the Nethermind DVN rotated signers and its quorum stays 1.

    L2Beat

  • Admin powers

    A June 2026 upgrade lets the CreditMessaging owner increase or decrease credits without LayerZero verification. The owner minted credits without cross-chain messages on 2026-10-01 and 2026-10-16, stating it was consolidating balances before deprecating pools. Stargate Multisig 2 is 5-of-7.

    L2Beat

  • Recent changes

    2026-10-12 (high severity on L2Beat): the shared LayerZero executor on Ethereum was upgraded to an unverified implementation. USDT pools were scheduled for deprecation on 2026-10-23.

    L2Beat

  • Security incidents

    DefiLlama lists a $43K phishing incident for Stargate Finance on 2023-12-04 (not a bridge exploit). The April 2026 KelpDAO exploit hit a separate LayerZero app, not Stargate's pools.

    DefiLlama HacksLayerZero Labs

What fees does Stargate charge?

Transfer fee or rebate
V2 fees are dynamic (V1 was a flat 6 bps): a pathway under heavy demand can even pay a rebate to rebalance liquidity. Fees go 1/6 to veSTG holders and 5/6 to the treasury. Stargate
Messaging gas
Paid in native gas: LayerZero's execution fee plus the DVN verification fee. Bus mode shares this cost across riders. StargateStargate

We only see Stargate through aggregators (currently LI.FI, “StargateV2 (Fast mode)”), so its quotes include the aggregator's fee.

How did its quotes perform in our data?

run #540

Quotes for StargateV2 (Fast mode) in run #540, by the API that reported them. We have no direct API quotes for this bridge; all rows come via aggregators and may include their fees.

Quote performance by source
SourceTypeRoutesQuote rows$200 cheapestMedian $200 bpsNegative-cost rows
LI.FIvia aggregator21630100.290

Negative-cost quotes (receiving more than you send) are listed, never ranked. Cost excludes source-chain gas.

Has upswap tested it with real money?

Not yet. Real-money tests are planned after launch; no test wallets or transactions are published yet.

What are the pros and cons?

Pros

  • Deep stablecoin and ETH pools on major chains.
  • Bus mode lowers messaging costs for small transfers.
  • Dynamic fees can turn into rebates on imbalanced pathways.

Cons

  • Owner can change pool credits without LayerZero verification (since June 2026).
  • Security varies per pathway with DVN configuration.
  • Recent high-severity executor change flagged by L2Beat.

Who is Stargate for?

Fits stablecoin and ETH transfers between major chains, especially larger ones where pool depth matters; watch the admin-credit power and recent changes.

Has it been hacked?

KelpDAO's rsETH bridge was a separate LayerZero OFT deployment; we list it here because it shares LayerZero's DVN verification model, not because Stargate's pools were affected.

Incident library →

Which official links are verified?

  • App stargate.finance · checked 2026-10-24
  • Docs stargateprotocol.gitbook.io/stargate · checked 2026-10-24
  • Fee docs stargateprotocol.gitbook.io/stargate/v2-user-docs/whats-new-in-stargate-v2/fees · checked 2026-10-24

Sources

  1. Stargate — interop protocol page (updates log) — L2Beat · Database · checked
  2. Fees (Stargate V2) — Stargate · Docs · checked
  3. Transfer (Bus and Taxi) — Stargate · Docs · checked
  4. Stargate V2 — protocol page — DefiLlama · Database · checked
  5. DefiLlama Hacks — Stargate Finance, 2023-12-04 (phishing) — DefiLlama Hacks · Database · checked
  6. LayerZero Labs KelpDAO Incident Report — LayerZero Labs · Official · checked

Changelog

  • — Draft review written from L2Beat, Stargate docs and DefiLlama.

How do I cite this page?

Burn, A. / upswap.io (2026). Stargate Finance (Stargate V2) review. Updated 2026-10-24. https://upswap.io/bridges/stargatev2-fast-mode#summary. CC BY 4.0. Accessed ____.

Stable anchors: #summary #type #risk #fee-structure #performance #tests #pros-cons #fit #incidents #official #sources #changelog #disclosure #cite