Nathan Kim

APAC Marketing @LayerZero_Core | prev. @storyprotocol @unopnd_official @makerdao

[Nathan Kim @onchainwanderer]

RT @alexlimasia: Grateful for the main stage at Bitcoin Seoul.

1/ Crypto is better money technology. Not just a new asset class, but a fun…

[Bryan Pellegrino (臭企鹅) @PrimordialAA]

I’ve been asking myself why has it taken me so long to write this? Ultimately I still carry a huge amount of cognitive dissonance here. In my mind LayerZero the protocol was like Gnosis Safe and the application was setting their config, and who the )@(!$ would secure billions in TVL on a 1/1? I even tweeted about it, literally 0, I would have bet almost anything on that because almost every major application we helped setup their configs. Someone then going and manually changing that to a 1/1 was outside of the realm of possibility for me.

I was wrong.

It’s easy to sit back and say ‘it’s just a protocol we have no control over how people use it’ but we have the opportunity to be better.

There was a conversation this week speaking to a customer and they just… screamed at me, at the top of their lungs, and swore for a solid ~3-5 minutes straight. We had implemented additional security measures of forcing a more stringent RPC quorum and forcing every chain to provide multiple RPCs and we had done it without telling them and it !)@$d with their business, which frankly is a deadly sin. We had messed with their business and they said communication wise we were completely blowing this. They were completely right.

This is something I care about a ton, it is both the result of a huge portion of my life and something that I fundamentally believe in. I literally gifted a copy of Unreasonable Hospitality to every single manager in the company. The entire point of what we’ve built is to enable others to build on top of it, it is to provide a protocol and a platform for people to build on, and we’ve been failing some of our largest customers.

The past two weeks have been unbelievably miserable. I’m incredibly grateful for all of the applications who have worked with us over the past 2 weeks, for @zeroshadow_io who has spent endless cycles with us tracking and seizing millions in attacker funds which will be returned to the rsETH team, and for all of the parties who brought together DefiUnited. Particularly @aave for leading and @MikeSilagadze for pushing everyone to get their !@)($ together and sort things out as quickly as possible, and putting himself in the frontline of acquisition talks and everything else to try to get to a solution quickly.

@LayerZero_Core is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in the industry, the LayerZero protocol has earned the trust of the largest and most important asset issuers in the space. We will do better and we will make the industry better for it.

My entire focus over the past 2 weeks has singularly been working with applications to harden their setup, building tooling to assist in tracking and freezing hacker funds, and the rsETH recovery efforts.

That is going to shift now to where LayerZero Labs spends it's time and effort. The only thing this company will spend time on is how we can better serve our asset issuers and the upcoming launch of Zero.

[Alex Lim @alexlimasia]

Just announced at @buidl_conf:
$KGLD, one of Asia’s first tokenized gold is here, powered by LayerZero.

Korea Gold Exchange Digital Asset (KorDA), backed by ITCEN, a KOSDAQ-listed company ($1B+ mcap), is launching $KGLD, and has chosen @LayerZero_Core as their only interoperability partner.

The Korea’s largest gold exchange will issue $KGLD using LayerZero’s OFT Standard, enabling a single unified asset across blockchains from day one.

Once live, gold will be:
• Transferable across networks
• Composable with applications
• Usable in DeFi, payments, and institutional workflows

Gold is a $13T asset class and Asia drives over half of the global demand.

Accelerate tokenization of everything.

[Alex Lim @alexlimasia]

몇 차례의 감기 및 독감의 희생이 있었지만, 바쁜 1/2월 덕분에 2026년을 힘차게 시작할 수 있었습니다.

이제 시작이니 많은 관심 부탁드립니다.
레이어제로 한국 공식 채널도 함께 런칭했으니 관심 있으신 분은 들어오세요! ⬇️
https://t.co/VoHGAoNZSk

[Nathan Kim @onchainwanderer]

https://t.co/bIgXTI0Q4Z

[0xMantleKR @0xMantleKR]

🎙 De-Ference ( @DecipherGlobal ) 맨틀 인터뷰 with @LayerZero_Core

디퍼런스 현장에서 레이어제로 APAC 마케팅 리드, @onchainwanderer님과 맨틀 X 레이어제로 협력, 멀티체인 인프라, 그리고 RWA 전략에 대해 이야기를 나눴습니다.

자세한 내용은 아래 영상에서 확인해보세요!

🎤 모더레이터: @Gem3a | 🎥 촬영 및 기획: @JHyunjong

[Alex Lim @alexlimasia]

Tokyo Fintech Week stood out. It was filled with suits and ties with no merch booths, airdrops, or cocktail parties -- what this industry needs more of.

Japanese regulators, banks, and institutions seemed more prepared than the ones in Korea & Hong Kong, primarily thanks to regulatory framework by FSA and government support(i.e Japan's Minister of Finance showing up). There will be far more chains and tokenized assets coming out from Japan this year.

After months of traveling and public speaking, we're gradually seeing the impact over time with higher recognition. External apperance has its own benefits but it's time to turn these conversations into collaboration. The next few months will be focused and disciplined.

Asia in 2026 will be meaningful for LayerZero and we are still interviewing for world-class talents.

[Nathan Kim @onchainwanderer]

오늘 DEFERENCE 2026 행사에서 맨틀 팀의 초대로 레이어제로에 대해 소개하고 최근 업데이트를 공유할 수 있었습니다. 준비하신 세션들 퀄리티가 너무 좋아서 강추합니다 🔥🔥

[0xMantleKR @0xMantleKR]

디퍼런스에서 전하는 맨틀한국 라이브스트림이 곧 시작됩니다!

https://t.co/0P3tFVlxEI

[Nathan Kim @onchainwanderer]

https://t.co/GlG7Ftju5V

[Steve @Steve_4P]

I have strong conviction that @LayerZero_Core will emerge as a leading Layer 1 blockchain in the next crypto cycle.

Why?

We are cooking on it.

Soon.

$ZRO

[100y @100y_eth]

What a day for LayerZero

▪️@tether announces strategic Investment in @LayerZero_Labs

▪️@CathieDWood (ARK Invest), @mblaugrund (ICE), Caroline Butler (ex-BNY) joined @LayerZero_Core advisory board

▪️LayerZero announces Zero: The Decentralized Multi-Core World Computer.
- Distinct validator classes: lighweight validators & higher performance block producers
- QMDB for state storage
- FAFO for parallel compute scheduling
- Jolt Pro for real-time ZK proving
- SVIC for high-throughput networking
- Atomicity Zone: multi-core architecture (2M TPS per Zone)

▪️@GTE_XYZ 's treasury layer will be built on LayerZero's Zero

▪️@The_DTCC , @Citadel, @ICE_Markets Made Partnerships With Zero
- Citadel made a strategic investment in ZRO
- DTCC is looking for using Zero architecture to DTC tokenization service
- ICE is looking for potential aplications of Zero for trading/clearing infra

[LayerZero @LayerZero_Core]

https://t.co/vVPUwJ2BSl

[Bryan Pellegrino (臭企鹅) @PrimordialAA]

A global casino is not enough

When I first got into this space, it was for the promise of something that gave every single person on the planet an escape hatch. It gave them the option to escape the traditional system of intermediaries and gatekeepers, of corruption, of misplaced trust, of denial of access. It promised to give us nothing more than the simple ability to own what we own. That what’s yours is… yours, and no one can take it from you or deny you access.

Beyond my wildest dreams in 2011 (or frankly even in 2024), this has gone from an escape hatch to an escape raft, not for the individuals but for the system as a whole. In the 15 years since I discovered crypto, we’ve seen more corruption than I care to count, banks fail, currencies fail, and even the best of each batch wildly outperformed by this little mathematical experiment called Bitcoin. The image of a decentralized system used by many, owned by all that expands beyond any given jurisdiction, globally available, globally owned, has become increasingly relevant every day as it has outperformed every global asset and is now valued in the trillions.

In proving this, the wool was removed from our eyes, and we saw more than just electronic cash, a trustless system bound by math expanded far beyond ‘digital gold’. It became clear that much of the future world, from lending and savings to identity and contracts, could be housed in the same system. Like most new frontiers, though, the dreamers were the minority.

"First come the dreamers, then the bankers, then the salesmen, then the sharks, then the desperate, and then the thieves."
- Landman

And piece by piece, a better system came to mean a better casino. ‘Fast finance’ regardless of the risk, ‘open access’ even if the contracts were upgradable. Scaling via centralization or multisigs, whatever tradeoff could be made for the incremental millisecond to speed up consumer turnover. Social tokens are hailed as the future of community, and memecoins as the future of investing.

We’ve lost sight of what we set out to build, and we’ve lost sight of why it actually matters. One by one, the dreamers fell, disillusioned by the misguided focus on scaling via trade-offs or pulled by the token grant to lend their name and credibility to keep building a better casino.

Now, don’t get me wrong, at my core, I am a libertarian, and I appreciate the value of free markets. Each of these things should be able to exist; that is the cost of free systems, just as hearing an opinion I don’t value is the cost of free speech. Somewhere along the way though, the dreamers drank the poisoned wine and came to believe that the end we got was the end we set out for. Like the worst possible case of Stockholm Syndrome, they either convinced themselves that what they did was good or quit the game entirely in disgust.

Let me remind you why I am here and what this space has meant to me.

I grew up in rural New Hampshire in about as peaceful a time and environment as possible. Despite that, I have seen my former profession banned for profit from Las Vegas lobbyists, payment processors unilaterally cancelled, I’ve been debanked, and I’ve been forced out of multiple homes due to uncertain or outright hostile regulation. I’ve seen the economy blow up, and I’ve had my financial institutions blow up. I’ve watched conmen take billions from those who trusted them. And compared globally, I am one of the lucky ones.

We deserve a better system and a freer world.

There is no reason why someone should not own their own money, have a basic right to privacy, or be trapped in a failing currency or a corrupt system.

Zero is a response to what we want to see in the world and what the world has not given us. Zero is a response to those dreamers who let their vision die, or convinced themselves that 15 tps was enough to serve the rich, and left the rest to multisigs. Zero is planting a stake in the ground, picking the torch back up, and marching forward with the ideals we came here for.

Zero will propel our values into the world, not because we hope the existing financial system shares them, but because these principles are so powerful they cannot be ignored. We set out not to replace a single piece of the stack or to capture the tiny fraction captured to date. We set out to change the entire system. A new backend. Globally distributed, globally owned. Permissionless and censorship-resistant. A system open to all. A better system, where mathematical proofs reign supreme.

[Bryan Pellegrino (臭企鹅) @PrimordialAA]

2.5 years of work

Revealed live in NYC and online globally

2/10/26

[Professor Jo @0xProfessorJo]

2026년 코인베이스 벤처스가 주목한 4가지 투자 아이디어 중에서 특히 눈에 띄는 부분은 로보틱스 학습을 위한 데이터셋 부족 문제를 지적했다는 점입니다. 크립토 인센티브를 활용해 고품질 피지컬 데이터를 수집하는 모델이 유망하다고 언급했는데, 이런 흐름에서 Story (@StoryProtocol)의 포세이돈 (@psdnai) 가 기대되는 이유이기도 합니다.

[EDUM_Official @EDUMOfficial]

We’re excited to announce that EDUM is migrating to @StoryProtocol, the Layer-1 blockchain for programmable IP.

This marks a major leap forward in our mission to register millions of hours of learning data as IP to license for AI training.
Here’s what this means 👇

[Crypto Nomad | CAIA | FIS Lab @FISlab]

■ K-Builders Meetup — Feeling the Real Pulse of Korea’s Builder Ecosystem in Seoul

@StoryProtocol @worldcoin @dsrvlabs @0xShardLab @Verse_Eight

✨ Just arrived at the World Flagship Space Seoul.
You can feel it as soon as you step inside — this place is gathering the real heartbeat of Korea’s builder ecosystem.
Founders, gaming studio developers, university project leads, corporate blockchain teams, angels, and VCs are already mixing naturally and chatting across the room.

Today’s meetup, hosted by Story, World, DSRV, and ShardLab, brings together short talks, live demos, workshops, and networking — a format that really captures the fast-paced energy of builders exchanging ideas in real time.

🌐 First Impressions of the Projects Here Today

🌱 Story Protocol @StoryProtocol
Turning creative works and data into on-chain IP is becoming a very real choice for many Korean builders.
Several Story-based demos and collaboration showcases are lined up for today.

🌱 World / World ID / World App @worldcoin
The Korea GM will be presenting soon, and their collaboration with Story’s Poseidon App (@psdnai) looks like a strong reference case for local builders.
There’s also noticeable interest in the expansion of the Mini App ecosystem.

🌱 DSRV @dsrvlabs
With deep experience in global infrastructure, their upcoming talk — “How a Builder Survives Overseas” — is one many attendees are looking forward to.

🌱 ShardLab @0xShardLab
One of the most technically solid development teams in Korea.
Their session today is expected to offer practical insights that local builders can apply immediately.

🌱 Verse8 (AI-powered gaming studio) @Verse_Eight
Their AI-driven production pipeline built on Story is fascinating — and it seems like a highly relevant demo for game-focused builders.

🎯 Why “K-Builders” Matters Right Now

As we move through 2025, Korea is clearly shifting from a trader-centric market to a builder-driven ecosystem.
Regulatory clarity, institutional participation, and global projects investing directly into local developer communities all point in the same direction.

Korea still has far more traders than developers — but that also means the untapped builder pool is large, and its potential is only beginning to surface.
Meetups like this one play an important role in making that talent visible.

The sessions are starting soon.
Curious to see what kind of connections and ideas will emerge tonight.
Events like this really show where Korea’s builder ecosystem is headed. 🙏🚀

[Crypto Nomad | CAIA | FIS Lab @FISlab]

■ K-Builders Meetup — 서울 현장에서 만나는 빌더 생태계의 진짜 온도

@StoryProtocol @worldcoin @dsrvlabs @0xShardLab @Verse_Eight

✨ 방금 World Flagship Space Seoul에 도착했습니다.
입구를 지나자마자 느껴지는 이 분위기—말 그대로 한국 빌더 생태계의 ‘실제 맥박’이 모여 있는 자리 같습니다.
창업가, 게임 스튜디오 개발자, 대학 프로젝트 리드, 기업 블록체인팀, 엔젤·VC까지 자연스럽게 섞여 대화를 나누고 있네요.

오늘 밋업은 Story, World, DSRV, ShardLab이 함께 준비한 짧은 토크 + 라이브 데모 + 워크숍 + 네트워킹 구성으로, 실제 빌더들이 서로의 경험과 아이디어를 바로 교환할 수 있는 속도감을 잘 담고 있습니다.

🌐 현장에서 바라본 주요 프로젝트 인상

🌱 Story Protocol @StoryProtocol
창작물과 데이터를 온체인 IP로 만드는 구조가 국내 빌더들에게 점점 더 현실적인 선택지가 되고 있음을 느꼈습니다.
오늘도 Story 기반 데모와 협업 사례가 여럿 소개될 예정입니다.

🌱 World / World ID / World App @worldcoin
한국 GM 발표가 곧 진행되는데, 특히 Story의 Poseidon(@psdnai) App과의 협업 사례가 한국 빌더들에게 좋은 참고가 될 듯합니다.
Mini App 생태계 확장도 현장에서 관심도가 높습니다.

🌱 DSRV @dsrvlabs
인프라 구축 경험이 워낙 진한 팀이라, ‘빌더가 해외에서 생존하는 법’이라는 발표가 기대됩니다.

🌱 ShardLab @0xShardLab
국내 개발팀 중 기술 밀도가 높은 팀 중 하나. 오늘 발표에서도 한국 로컬 빌더들이 바로 활용할 만한 현실적인 인사이트가 나올 듯합니다.

🌱 Verse8 (AI 기반 게임 스튜디오) @Verse_Eight
AI 기반 제작 파이프라인을 Story 위에 얹은 구조가 흥미롭습니다.
게임 기반 빌더들에게는 실질적인 데모가 될 느낌입니다.

🎯 왜 지금 ‘K-Builders’가 중요한가?

한국 시장은 2025년을 지나며 트레이더 중심에서 빌더 중심 생태계로 확실히 넘어가는 국면에 들어섰습니다.
규제 정비, 기관 진입, 글로벌 프로젝트의 로컬 생태계 투자까지—흐름은 분명합니다.

한국은 여전히 개발자 대비 트레이더 비율이 높지만, 그만큼 잠재 빌더 풀과 숨겨진 역량이 많다는 뜻이기도 합니다.
이번 밋업은 그 가능성들이 하나씩 드러나는 자리라는 점에서 큰 의미가 있습니다.

잠시 후 세션이 시작됩니다.
오늘 어떤 연결과 아이디어가 오갈지 기대되네요.
이런 밋업이야말로 한국 빌더 생태계가 앞으로 어디로 가는지를 보여주는 지표 같습니다. 🙏🚀

[Krypto치카 🌊 RIVER @kryptochka]

Calling all Korean builders!
The 2025 K-Builders Meetup is must-attend blockchain networking event. Hosted by Story, World, DSRV, and ShardLab.
Brings together startups, game devs, angels, VCs, and open-source builders—all in one place!
@StoryProtocol
@dsrvlabs
@0xShardLab

[Story @StoryProtocol]

🇰🇷 The future gets built in Seoul.

Meet us at K-Builders, a new event series that highlights the latest developer momentum unfolding in Korea.

→ Nov 20
→ World Flagship Space, Seoul
→ Co-hosted by @worldnetwork, @dsrvlabs, & @0xShardLab