Is Stargate Finance Safe?
Risk Grade: C+ (41/100)
Stargate Finance is rated as elevated risk — multiple novel mechanisms and notable interaction risks.
Moderate risk — most-used bridge with deep liquidity, but the 2-of-2 validator trust model and centralized post-acquisition governance are serious concerns
A cross-chain bridge that lets you move tokens between blockchains using shared liquidity pools, holding $345M in deposits. LayerZero acquired Stargate for $110M in 2025, dissolving the community DAO and centralizing governance. Its C+ grade reflects serious bridge security risks and the loss of decentralized oversight.
TVL
$7M
Mechanisms
7
Interactions
6
Value Grade
C+
Key Risks for Stargate Finance Users
Two validator groups (DVNs) must both approve every cross-chain transfer. If both are compromised or collude, attackers can forge transfers and steal the entire $345M in liquidity pools
LayerZero bought Stargate and shut down the community DAO. One foundation now controls bridge settings, validator choices, and fee structures with no community vote required
The reward system that keeps pools balanced across chains can be gamed. An attacker who finds the right sequence of trades can systematically drain pool liquidity for profit
Top Risk Factors
- •DVN validator collusion (both whitelisted DVNs) can submit fraudulent messages and steal bridged funds
- •LayerZero acquisition dissolved Stargate DAO, centralizing governance under LayerZero Foundation
- •Unified liquidity pools across chains can be drained through algorithm manipulation of equilibrium rewards
How Stargate Finance Compares to Peers
Stargate Finance ranks #11 of 24 Bridge protocols (above-median). At a risk score of 41/100, it's in line with the sector average (43/100).
Adjacent peers: Celer Network (C+, 40/100) is ranked just safer, and Zeus Network (C+, 41/100) is ranked just riskier.
See the full Bridge sector leaderboard or the Stargate Finance vs Zeus Network comparison.
Common Questions about Stargate Finance
Plain-English answers based on Stargate Finance's scores across Hindenrank's 8 risk dimensions. The highest-scoring (riskiest) dimension is Vitality Risk (7/10).
Has Stargate Finance ever been hacked or exploited?
Stargate Finance has a fairly clean operational history. The track record dimension scored 3/15, indicating minor or no significant incidents on record. A clean track record is a positive signal but it does not guarantee future safety, especially as protocol complexity grows.
How much money is at stake in Stargate Finance?
Stargate Finance currently holds under $7M in user deposits — small enough that liquidity events could affect exits. Smaller TVL means individual depositors carry a larger share of any loss event, and it can be harder to exit a position quickly during stress.
What's the worst-case scenario for Stargate Finance?
Hindenrank has identified specific collapse scenarios for Stargate Finance. The most prominent: "DVN Collusion Bridge Drain". The trigger condition is Both whitelisted DVN operators are simultaneously compromised (key theft, insider collusion, or state-level coercion) enabling submission of fraudulent cross-chain messages. Reading through the full scenario list on the protocol page is the single best way to understand the actual failure modes — generic "smart contract risk" is rarely the thing that takes a protocol down.
Is Stargate Finance regulated or insured?
Stargate Finance has low regulatory exposure on Hindenrank's framework (3/10). The protocol is structured in a way that minimizes counterparty and jurisdiction concentration, though regulatory risk in crypto can change rapidly. No DeFi protocol carries FDIC-style insurance — even with low regulatory risk, depositors are not protected in the way bank customers are.
What are the biggest red flags for Stargate Finance?
Hindenrank's retail-focused risk audit flagged: Two validator groups (DVNs) must both approve every cross-chain transfer. If both are compromised or collude, attackers can forge transfers and steal the entire $345M in liquidity pools LayerZero bought Stargate and shut down the community DAO. One foundation now controls bridge settings, validator choices, and fee structures with no community vote required The reward system that keeps pools balanced across chains can be gamed. An attacker who finds the right sequence of trades can systematically drain pool liquidity for profit On the technical side, 2 critical-severity interaction risks have been identified.
Should beginners deposit into Stargate Finance?
Stargate Finance's C+ grade puts it in the elevated-risk band. This is not a beginner-friendly protocol. Anyone depositing here should treat the position as speculative and avoid concentrating significant savings in it.
How does Stargate Finance compare to safer Bridge alternatives?
Stargate Finance is one protocol in Hindenrank's Bridge coverage. The safest Bridge protocols on the leaderboard tend to share three traits: a long incident-free track record, conservative mechanism design, and high-quality public documentation. Compare Stargate Finance against the full Bridge ranking before committing capital.
For the full 8-dimension score breakdown, the radar chart, and dependency graph, see the Stargate Finance risk report.
Read the Full Stargate Finance Risk Report
This protocol has 2 collapse scenarios. 2 critical and 2 high-severity interaction risks identified. See the full mechanism classification, interaction matrix, and deep-dive recommendations.
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