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Stargate V1

Rejected
Max sleeve
Reviewed
2026-08-15 · v1
Next review
2026-11-15
Chains
Ethereum · sovereign, Arbitrum One · hybrid, OP Mainnet · hybrid, Polygon PoS · hybrid, Base · hybrid, Avalanche · crypto-backed, BNB Smart Chain · freezable, Mantle · freezable

Rejected venues wait the longest for re-review; a rejection has to earn another look before the scheduled date.

Stargate V1 is a cross-chain bridge: depositors fund unified liquidity pools that let users move native assets between chains with guaranteed finality. V1 uses single-sided asset pools, so the two-asset AMM-LP dossier is not the fundamental rule. The August 15, 2026 survey reported about $9.73M across thirteen chains, while current Stargate documentation still lists V1 as a live route alongside V2. The v1 below-materiality dossier therefore controls this active legacy-version record.

The research file

Applicability to the surveyed record

Stargate V1 uses LayerZero messages and the Delta algorithm to support native-asset transfers through unified, single-sided pools. Liquidity providers fund one asset pool and collect transfer fees across connected routes. Because the position is not a two-asset AMM inventory claim and current evidence does not show discretionary portfolio allocation, neither amm-lp nor delegated-allocation supersedes the size screen.

Current observation and lifecycle

The DefiLlama API read on 2026-08-15 classified Stargate V1 as a Cross Chain Bridge and reported approximately $9.73M across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Base, Avalanche, Binance, Fantom, Linea, Mantle, Metis, Kava and a zero-value Goerli record. Stargate’s current architecture documentation still enumerates V1 and V2 as separate pool routes, so V1 should not be mislabeled as archived or fully sunset.

Control, loss and exit applicability

V1 soft-partitions each local asset pool into credits for remote routes and relies on LayerZero messaging plus sufficient destination liquidity. LP returns come from transfer fees, while capital inherits bridge-contract, message-validation, chain, asset and route-balance risks. A local LP exit depends on the pool contract’s available asset balance and the then-current credits and traffic pattern; aggregate TVL does not prove a proposed-size redemption.

Why the class rule decides

The shared v1 below-materiality dossier controls because live V1 TVL remains below $100M and no more fundamental existing class fits its single-sided bridge-liquidity mechanism. Reopen after reproducible V1-only TVL remains at least $100M for 30 days, then pin a named chain, pool and asset and review contracts, LayerZero configuration, DAO and emergency powers, route credits, exploit and incident record, fee economics, and stressed local redemption capacity against direct asset custody.

Sources

The claims above trace to these. Where a number could not be independently verified, the thesis says so.

Inherited controls

The verdict above grades the protocol layer. Every position also inherits the asset it holds and the chain it settles on. The least safe layer sets the position’s grade, and the position table names which one that is.

ChainVerdictGradeControl constraint
EthereumApproved sovereign No sequencer, no upgrade key, no operator who can be compelled — rule changes require social consensus.
Arbitrum OneApproved · limits hybrid a single sequencer orders >99% of transactions and admin keys can upgrade bridge contracts on a ~7-day timelock.
OP MainnetRejected hybrid Ethereum forced inclusion limits sequencer censorship, but the Foundation and Security Council can co-sign an immediate upgrade before a client can exit.
Polygon PoSRejected hybrid a public validator set orders transactions, but a 5-of-9 multisig can instantly upgrade staking and canonical bridge contracts, while a 5-of-8 controls custom child tokens.
BaseApproved · limits hybrid Coinbase — one regulated US company — operates the only sequencer, and admin keys can upgrade bridge contracts within ~7 days.
AvalancheApproved · limits crypto-backed no party can freeze or seize C-Chain funds, but one vendor writes the only production client and Messari measured over a third of stake hosted on AWS.
BNB Smart ChainRejected freezable the validator set concentrates around one company, and the chain has been halted by decision.
MantleRejected freezable the team can push instant upgrades — there is no exit window a client could use.
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