• be the internet • born 1969, UCLA lab basement • early days • computers can’t talk • giant metal boxes sitting alone • no shared language, no shared rules • each network its own island • 1973 • Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn publish the idea • “a network of networks” • packet switching, not phone lines • split messages into tiny chunks • send them anywhere • reassemble on the other side • fast forward • 1983 • ARPANET switches to TCP/IP • the moment everything changes suddenly • all networks speak one protocol • the internet finally becomes… the Internet • 1990s • fiber optics hit • bandwidth explodes • browsers appear • the web goes mainstream • everyone’s using it • almost nobody understands the plumbing • TCP/IP silently powers the world • the value layer of everything online • 2020s • crypto repeats history • chains everywhere • bridges everywhere • no shared language • no coordination layer • chaos • exactly the pre-TCP/IP era all over again • LayerZero • born 2021 • omnichain from day zero • “what if blockchains could talk like the internet?” • devs don’t get it yet • too early • too futuristic • but Bryan & team see what’s coming 2022–2023 • LayerZero quietly becomes the message layer • OFT standard emerges • 50+ chains connected • 10s of billions bridging monthly • builder energy 2025 • hypergrowth • $36.8B monthly volume • 66,000 contracts deployed • 500+ native assets(OFTs) • 80%+ market share • 150+ chains • $800M in a single message • Hyperliquid votes: every proposal picks LayerZero • USDT0 becomes the new meta • PayPal, Ondo, Dinari jump in • same moment as 1983 TCP/IP flip • the world doesn’t know it yet • but the protocol has already won • investors consolidating • moving cost basis up • LayerZero net-buys supply • double-digit % removed from circulation • 20+ year runway • insiders choosing to add, not exit • consumer products come online • fast swaps • omnichain vaults • Hydra • Stargate revenue already → $ZRO buybacks • internal target: $100M run rate in 12 months • value accrual starts • protocol dominance → protocol economics • stablecoins predicted to go to trillions • onchain RWAs go global • corporate chains launch • LayerZero becomes the standard routing layer • exactly what TCP/IP was for information • LayerZero becomes for value • final arc • the internet connected data • LayerZero connects money • same pattern • same inevitability • but this time • the message layer finally has a token higher