Nethermind Shifts Crosschain Operations from LayerZero to Chainlink

Nethermind, a major Ethereum engineering firm, has ended its role as a validator for LayerZero's crosschain messaging system and moved its operations to Chainlink's interoperability protocol. The company announced the shift on August 19, 2026, after what it described as an extensive review. As a result, Nethermind will now operate as a node operator for Chainlink's CrossChain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and its Data Feeds.

The decision marks a significant realignment in blockchain infrastructure, as Nethermind is not a minor participant. The firm develops one of Ethereum's primary execution clients and states its software supports more than 16,000 validators and over $5 billion in delegated assets. Its infrastructure is utilized by prominent projects such as EtherFi, Lido, and Arbitrum. Nethermind CEO Daniel Celeda characterized the move as a long-term infrastructure commitment. "Being a node operator carries real responsibility for a network's reliability, and that's consistent with how we approach every engineering commitment we make," he said in a statement.

Under its previous arrangement with LayerZero, Nethermind served as a Decentralized Verifier Network (DVN)...