ZKsync Lite, Ethereum’s first zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup network, will be deprecated in 2026 after successfully fulfilling its mission, the team announced.
“In 2026, we plan to deprecate ZKsync Lite (aka ZKsync 1.0), the original ZK-rollup we launched on Ethereum,” ZKsync wrote on X on Sunday. “This is a planned, orderly sunset for a system that has served its purpose and does not affect any other ZKsync systems.”
The team added that ZKsync Lite “was a groundbreaking proof-of-concept and validated critical ideas for building production-ready ZK systems.”
“It did its job: prove what’s possible and pave the way for the next generation.”
Technology firm Matter Labs launched ZKsync Lite in 2020, aiming to enable fast transfers and NFT minting. However, the network did not support smart contracts, which restricted its broader functionality.
ZKsync Lite was the first network to use validity proofs that instantly verify transactions before they are bundled and submitted to the Ethereum mainnet for final confirmation.
Matter Labs halted development on ZKsync Lite in early 2023 after launching ZKsync Era, a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) that supports smart contracts.
ZKsync emphasized that no immediate action is required from ZKsync Lite users, and the network continues to operate normally. “Funds remain safe, and withdrawals to L1 will continue to work as usual,” the team said. Other ZKsync products remain unaffected, and the company promised to release “concrete details, dates, and migration guidance soon” for ZKsync Lite users.
Currently, just under $50 million is bridged to ZKsync Lite, according to DefiLlama, with L2BEAT reporting just over 330 user operations in the past 24 hours. By contrast, ZKsync Era has $36.4 million in total value locked in DeFi, with over 22,000 user operations in the last day.
The ZKsync ecosystem may see further changes. Last month, co-creator Alex Gluchowski proposed overhauling the ZKsync governance token to enhance its “economic utility” by tying it more closely to network fees.
