Key Takeaways
- •zkSync Lite, the original ZK rollup from 2020, processes fewer than 200 transactions per day before its planned 2026 retirement.
- •$50 million in user funds remain accessible with full Ethereum L1 withdrawal support during the transition.
- •The focus shifts to the zkSync Era, ZK Stack chains, and cross-chain upgrades, such as the recent Atlas activation.
zkSync Lite to be Phased Out
zkSync Lite, the legacy network that processed over one billion transactions since its launch, is scheduled to be phased out. The end of support for zkSync Lite was announced by zkSync in an X post. This decision follows a sharp decline in daily activity since the introduction of zkSync Era, the full zkEVM, in March 2023.
📌In 2026, we plan to deprecate ZKsync Lite (aka ZKsync 1.0), the original ZK-rollup we launched on Ethereum.
This is a planned, orderly sunset for a system that has served its purpose and does not affect any other ZKsync systems.
— ZKsync (@zksync) December 7, 2025
Users hold around $50 million in bridged assets, but withdrawals to Ethereum Layer 1 remain open. Detailed migration steps are set for an early 2026 release to prevent bridge congestion. The shutdown is isolated to zkSync Lite and has no impact on Era or ZK Stack-built chains.
ZK Ecosystem Builds a Multi-Chain Future
ZKsync has restructured its governance token to provide clearer economic utility and better value capture across the zero-knowledge ecosystem. Under the new model, the token is tied directly to multiple revenue streams, from protocol fees on-chain to licensing fees from enterprise use off-chain. All of this will be funneled through a governance-managed system to support development, security, and community incentives, with the goal of keeping the network sustainable and independent over the long run.
Recent upgrades underscore this pivot. Atlas went live on December 5, introducing native cross-chain messaging across ZK networks and boosting daily active users as applications adapt. An October proof-of-performance boost added privacy tools for tokenized assets and high-throughput use cases.
Separately, on May 13, 2025, a security incident compromised the official X accounts of ZKsync and its developer, Matter Labs, through a phishing scam. Hackers gained control of the accounts and disseminated fraudulent claims, including a false report that the company was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The attackers also linked these deceptive posts to a counterfeit airdrop designed as a phishing trap for followers. This sophisticated social engineering attack briefly impacted the market, causing a temporary decline in the price of ZKsync’s native token, ZK. Matter Labs quickly confirmed that the posts were fake, announced the full recovery of account control, and is currently investigating the cause of the compromise, which may have been facilitated through delegated third-party accounts.