LayerZero blamed Kelp for using one verifier instead of several, while Kelp said LayerZero staff had reviewed its setup and never objected. CoinGecko data showed nearly half of active LayerZero apps used the same one-verifier arrangement, and Kelp said it would move rsETH to Chainlink.
Like LayerZero, CCIP 2.0 lets companies choose extra verifiers, running their own or hiring outside providers such as Infosys and Nethermind. Unlike Kelp’s setup, though, those sit on top of Chainlink’s default network of 16 independent node operators, which must reach a quorum on every transfer.
Users shouldn’t have to be “cross-chain security infrastructure experts,” the company told CoinDesk.
“Historically, legacy bridges have lost billions due to insecure infrastructure, while in-house builds are slow and expensive,” Johann Eid, Chainlink Labs’ chief business officer, said in a statement.
The upgrade also changes a safeguard Chainlink used to promote heavily; its Risk Management Network, a separate set of nodes that double-checked transactions, no longer plays that role. Chainlink said that kind of independent check can now come from the optional verifiers instead. That means a user who adds nothing relies on one verifier network where previously there were two, though that network is made up of 16 operators rather than a single verifier.
