This week’s digest highlights a major $ZRO unlock, accelerating buyback mechanisms across the LayerZero ecosystem, and a new TGE on the horizon from GRVT Protocol.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• ZRO faces a $50.9M unlock this week, representing 5.64% of circulating supply, as insider allocations continue entering the market.
• Stargate will now allocate 100% of protocol revenue to ZRO buybacks, strengthening long-term demand dynamics.
• GRVT enters the radar for upcoming TGEs, with its token launch targeted for late June 2026 and a revenue-sharing token model.

Weekly Recap

The week was dominated by escalating U.S.-Iran war tensions, which sent oil prices surging and forced markets to price in higher inflation and delayed Fed rate cuts. This showed up clearly in rising U.S. Treasury yields and bond volatility hitting a nine-month high on the MOVE index.

Crypto outperformed traditional markets amid the chaos. Total crypto market cap hovered around $2.29T and posted a modest +0.9% weekly gain, while major equities (S&P 500, Nasdaq futures, Nikkei) saw sharper declines and risk-off rotation. Bitcoin traded in a $70k range, showing relative resilience as a hedge. Ethereum and most alts lagged slightly, but the sector decoupled positively from broader risk assets.

Standout performer: $HYPE
Hyperliquid’s native token was the clear winner, surging 26% over the week and outperforming Bitcoin by several percentage points. The rally was fueled by explosive on-platform volume—oil perpetuals alone hit $1.4–1.5B daily as traders flocked to the perp DEX amid the energy shock. HIP-3 (multi-asset perps) and the protocol’s 97% revenue buyback mechanism continued to drive strong tokenomics tailwinds.

Upcoming Events

Next week’s scheduled token releases are set to exceed $700 Million in total value. Notable tokens facing sizable releases include $BTC, $RAIN, $ZRO, $RIVER, and $SOL.

Unlocks Spotlight: $ZRO

• Unlock Date: March 20, 2026
• Amount: $50.90M
• Unlock as % of Circulating Supply: 5.64%
• Vested Allocations: Strategic Partners, Core Contributors, and Token Repurchased

This week’s unlock spotlight focuses on ZRO, the native token of the LayerZero ecosystem, which continues its gradual insider distribution phase following its TGE earlier in 2024.

ZRO is currently trading near the lower bound of its historical price range, reflecting persistent sell-side pressure and weak market momentum. A key factor behind this dynamic is the ongoing token release schedule, primarily allocated to private investors and core team members.

Over the next 12 months, the project is set to release ~150% of the current circulating supply into the market. Importantly, the majority of these upcoming unlocks belong to insider cohorts, meaning the distribution flow will largely originate from early stakeholders rather than community incentives.

This structure creates a structural supply overhang that the market will need to absorb. Even though LayerZero remains a critical infrastructure layer in the cross-chain interoperability narrative, the heavy insider allocation and sustained unlock cadence could continue to cap upside volatility in the near term.

New TGEs on the Radar

GRVT Protocol is a privacy-focused hybrid decentralized exchange built on its own ZKsync-based zero-knowledge appchain. It combines on-chain settlement with a quasi-centralized trading experience for a smooth user feel.

GRVT officially announced the $GRVT token as the "membership key" to the entire ecosystem. It unlocks premium benefits, coordinates capital efficiency, and captures protocol value. The token powers better fees, yields, revenue sharing, and early access across all verticals — with benefits compounding based on platform usage and growth.

The Token Generation Event (TGE) is currently targeted for the end of June 2026, positioning GRVT as one of the notable upcoming launches to watch this quarter.

Value Accrual Mechanism

100% of protocol economic surplus flows back to $GRVT holders. Revenue is split between:

• Ecosystem reinvestment (R&D, expansion).
• Systematic token buybacks (regular TWAP purchases + opportunistic market buys).

This creates ongoing buy pressure and long-term holder alignment. Staking and tiered membership add further demand.

Notable Tokenomics Update

Stargate Shifts to 100% Revenue Buybacks for $ZRO

Stargate Finance confirmed that starting in March 2026, 100% of protocol revenue will fund open-market buybacks of $ZRO. This follows the LayerZero Foundation's full acquisition of Stargate in August 2025, which dissolved the Stargate DAO and allowed STG holders to redeem for ZRO at a fixed 1:0.08634 ratio.

During the initial 6-month transition (ending February 2026), revenue was split 50/50 between legacy veSTG stakers and ZRO buybacks.

Stargate buyback stats so far:

• February buyback: 146,430 ZRO
• Cumulative Stargate buybacks: 1,495,039 ZRO

Meanwhile, looking at the entire LayerZero ecosystem, cumulative buybacks funded by LayerZero protocol revenue have already offset 37.55% of ZRO’s circulating supply, according to Tokenomist’s buyback dashboard.

With Stargate now committing 100% of its revenue to buybacks, the mechanism could further reinforce structural demand for $ZRO as ecosystem activity grows.