# What is Stargate Finance? Cross-Chain Liquidity Bridge Explained

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**Publisher:** Decentralized Finance Publication (https://decentralized-finance.io)
**Author:** James Thornton
**Category:** Top DeFi Protocols
**Updated:** June 2026
**Trust:** Independent, ad-free editorial research. No display advertisements, no paid protocol coverage, no affiliate-driven rankings.

## Summary

Stargate Finance enables native cross-chain token transfers using LayerZero messaging and unified liquidity pools on each chain. Unlike wrapped bridges, Stargate aims for native asset delivery — USDC on Arbitrum to USDC on Ethereum. The STG token governs the protocol and rewards liquidity providers. Stargate is widely integrated in DeFi aggregators and multi-chain apps.

Stargate is the flagship cross-chain application built on LayerZero — connecting Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, BNB Chain, and other networks with unified liquidity pools.

Liquidity providers deposit assets on one chain and earn STG rewards plus bridge fees when users transfer through the pool.

## How Stargate transfers work

- User selects source chain, destination chain, and token
- LayerZero delivers message to destination Stargate pool
- Native tokens delivered on destination (subject to pool liquidity)
- Delta algorithm manages rebalancing across chains
- STG emissions incentivise pool liquidity on each chain

## Frequently Asked Questions

- What is Stargate? Stargate is a LayerZero-powered cross-chain liquidity bridge for native token transfers.
- Stargate vs Wormhole? Stargate uses LayerZero; Wormhole uses its own guardian network. Both bridge tokens cross-chain.
- What is STG? STG is Stargate's governance and rewards token.
- Is Stargate safe? Bridge risk applies — verify pool liquidity and destination chain before large transfers.

## Sources

- [Stargate](https://stargate.finance): Official Stargate bridge interface
- [Stargate Docs](https://stargateprotocol.gitbook.io): Documentation
- [Stargate on DeFiLlama](https://defillama.com/protocol/stargate): Bridge TVL

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