Clash Over Cheapest DeFi Bridge: Across Protocol vs LayerZero Labs

A significant dispute has emerged between Hart Lambur, co-founder of Across Protocol, and Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder of LayerZero Labs, over which DeFi bridge service offers the cheapest transaction fees. The debate, dubbed ’Bridge Wars’ by Lambur, started when LayerZero’s Stargate Finance claimed to be ’DeFi’s cheapest bridge’ with its new rollout. Lambur conducted a test by bridging 0.1 ETH from Arbitrum to Optimism, asserting that Across was cheaper and faster than Stargate’s latest iteration. Pellegrino contested these results, accusing Lambur of cherry-picking favorable data. Both founders published various transaction comparisons, showcasing marginal differences in fees. Chris Burniske from Placeholder Capital and Mark Murdock from LayerZero Labs also contributed to the debate. Overall, the essence of the argument revolves around fractions of pennies in transaction fees, with Across generally showing cheaper deposits and Stargate having cheaper fills.