What Is ZKsync Era? Ethereum ZK Rollup, Bridges and ZK Token

ZKsync Era is a general-purpose Ethereum layer-2 validity rollup built with the ZK Stack. It executes transactions outside Ethereum mainnet, groups state changes into batches, and submits data and zero-knowledge validity proofs to contracts on Ethereum. The proofs let Ethereum verify that a batch followed ZKsync’s rules without re-executing every transaction.

ZKsync Era is designed for lower fees and faster user confirmations than Ethereum mainnet. It does not provide unlimited scaling or transaction privacy: “zero knowledge” describes the proof system, while Era transaction activity and state remain publicly observable.

2026 update: ZKsync Era has been open to users since March 2023. The ZK governance token launched in June 2024, and its original token-distribution claim window closed in January 2025. The current network uses EraVM, Boojum proofs, blobs and on-chain governance; the original pre-launch article is archived below.

How ZKsync Era works

The current ZKsync architecture overview identifies four core components:

Sequencer: orders and executes layer-2 transactions and produces state updates.
Prover: the Boojum proof system creates validity proofs for transaction batches.
Ethereum verifier contracts: verify the proofs and finalize valid state transitions on layer 1.
EraVM: ZKsync’s ZK-optimized virtual machine for smart-contract execution.

Era publishes the information required by its rollup design to Ethereum and uses Ethereum contracts for proof verification and canonical bridging. A fast confirmation from the sequencer is not the same stage as a batch being committed, proven and executed on Ethereum.

ZK rollups versus optimistic rollups

Both approaches move execution away from Ethereum mainnet and publish data or commitments back to it. The main distinction is how state correctness is established.

	Validity rollup such as ZKsync Era	Optimistic rollup
State validation	Posts a cryptographic validity proof	Assumes a proposed state is valid unless successfully challenged
Native withdrawal model	Waits for proof, protocol execution and any security delay	Commonly includes a challenge window before canonical withdrawal
Main complexity	Proof circuits, prover infrastructure and verifier correctness	Fault-proof system, challengers and dispute period
Privacy by default	No	No

Neither category is automatically cheaper, faster or safer in every condition. Fees depend on layer-1 data prices, activity, batching, proof costs and protocol policy. Risk also depends on upgrade controls, sequencer operation, forced-transaction and exit mechanisms, code maturity and data availability.

EraVM and Ethereum compatibility

ZKsync Era runs EraVM rather than Ethereum’s EVM instruction set directly. Solidity and Vyper applications can be compiled for EraVM, and the network now also provides an EVM Bytecode Interpreter for unmodified EVM bytecode. “EVM-compatible” should not be read as bit-for-bit equivalence: developers must test differences in compilation, system contracts, gas accounting, addresses, deployment and tooling.

Era also supports native account abstraction. Smart accounts and paymasters can enable fee sponsorship or, where an application supplies the relevant paymaster, payment flows involving supported ERC-20 tokens. This is application-dependent and does not mean every token can always pay gas.

Fees and performance

The fixed 2023 fee figures in the archived article are obsolete. ZKsync fees change with computation, published data, Ethereum gas and protocol parameters. The wallet or application quote at transaction time is more useful than a historical dollar estimate.

Headline throughput figures also describe particular software targets or test conditions, not a permanent guarantee of realized mainnet capacity. Users should distinguish sequencer confirmation, proof submission and Ethereum finality when comparing performance.

Bridging between Ethereum and ZKsync Era

The canonical bridge locks an asset in an Ethereum contract and represents it on Era. An Era-to-Ethereum withdrawal burns the layer-2 representation, sends a message to Ethereum and must be finalized after the relevant batch has been proven and executed.

ZKsync’s current withdrawal-delay documentation describes a three-hour security delay, while noting that proof generation and batch execution can add more time. This is a minimum security mechanism, not a guaranteed completion time.

Before bridging:

Verify the official bridge interface, source chain, destination chain and token contract.
Remember that an L2 token address differs from its Ethereum address.
Confirm that the receiving wallet or exchange supports ZKsync Era and that exact asset.
Use a small test transfer for a new bridge or destination.
Understand whether the route is canonical or a third-party liquidity bridge with additional contracts and counterparties.

ZK token and governance

The 2023 prediction that ZKsync had no token is outdated. ZK launched in June 2024 with a maximum supply of 21 billion. Its current documented role is governance: a holder delegates voting power to themselves or another address, with each delegated ZK representing one vote. Delegation does not transfer token ownership.

ZKsync governance includes the Token Assembly, Security Council and Guardians, with different proposal and emergency roles. Token voting is only one part of the system; holding ZK does not give a legal ownership claim on Matter Labs or guarantee fee revenue, staking yield or appreciation.

The initial ZK airdrop is over. ZK Nation states that general claiming closed on January 3, 2025, so sites offering to recover an unclaimed allocation should be treated as phishing risks.

ZKsync Era risks and trust assumptions

Validity proofs constrain invalid state transitions, but users still face:

smart-contract, bridge, proof-system and implementation bugs;
sequencer censorship or downtime and delayed batch submission;
governance, Security Council and upgrade-key powers;
application exploits, oracle failures and malicious token contracts;
bridge delays, wrong-network transfers and third-party bridge risk;
wallet phishing, signature scams and fake airdrop pages;
liquidity and stablecoin issuer risks unrelated to the rollup proof.

These controls evolve. ZKsync’s official docs explain intended behavior, while an independent tracker such as L2BEAT’s ZKsync Era risk page is useful for checking the live stage, permissions, upgradeability, operator and exit assumptions before depositing significant funds.

ZKsync Era network details

ZKsync Era mainnet uses chain ID 324, ETH as its native fee asset, the RPC endpoint https://mainnet.era.zksync.io, and https://explorer.zksync.io as its explorer. Add the network through a trusted wallet registry or compare manual settings with the official network-details page.

ZKsync, ZK Stack and the Elastic Network

ZKsync Era is one chain. ZK Stack is the software framework used to build ZKsync chains, and the Elastic Network is the wider set of independently configured chains using that ecosystem. These chains can use different base tokens and data-availability designs, so Era’s security and bridge assumptions should not be copied automatically to every ZK Stack chain.

Original March 2023 article (historical archive)

The following text is retained substantially as published before public launch. Claims about a closed mainnet, fixed fees, privacy, no native token, Zinc, a future airdrop and guaranteed 100,000 TPS are outdated or overstated.

zkSync is a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum that provides unlimited scaling and privacy. It is built on zero knowledge (ZK) rollup architecture and is designed to address the inherent drawbacks of Ethereum such as slow transactions and high gas fees due to limited throughput. Layer 2 blockchain protocols separate ownership from computation, allowing for smart contracts to hold all assets on the main chain while the off-chain component is responsible for computation and storage. As a result, zkSync provides a high transaction rate and L1 level of security, allowing users to transfer Ether and ERC20 tokens quickly and securely.

Layer 2 on Ethereum

zkSync Era is the first zero-knowledge EVM for Ethereum, launched by Matter Labs in February 2023. It is an open-source project with an MIT/Apache 2.0 license and offers developers the ability to deploy and test their dApps on the mainnet. The mainnet is currently closed to end users until Full Launch Alpha, the final milestone of zkSync Era. In the meantime, Matter Labs is actively pursuing security audits and bug bounty programs to ensure the safety and reliability of the platform. With zkSync Era, developers can take advantage of the scalability and privacy of zero-knowledge proofs to build powerful and secure dApps on Ethereum.

Matter Labs Team

Matter Labs is a Berlin-based startup that has created zkSync, the first EVM-compatible zero knowledge rollup supporting general-purpose applications in Solidity without costly gas fees and performance barriers. The startup has raised over $400 million from two dozen VC funds, crypto incubators, and investors, including the Ethereum Foundation, Dekrypt Capital, Placeholder, Dragonfly Capital, 1kx, USV, BitDAO, OKX Blockdream Ventures, and Huobi Venture. With its innovative technology, zkSync is set to revolutionize the blockchain industry and make it easier for developers to create applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

ZK rollups VS Optimistic rollups

Rollups are a type of layer 2 solution designed to increase scalability on the Ethereum blockchain. They allow for low-cost verification by rolling up many transactions into one batch and sending them all to Ethereum in one action. This reduces the amount of data that needs to be processed on the main Ethereum chain, allowing for faster and cheaper transactions. Rollups also use smart contracts to lock assets on the Layer 1 blockchain, providing an extra layer of security. With rollups, users can enjoy faster and cheaper transactions without sacrificing security.

ZK Rollups and Optimistic Rollups are two different types of Ethereum scaling solutions. ZK Rollups use zero-knowledge proofs to verify the batch of transactions and settle it as final on the Ethereum main chain, while Optimistic Rollups assume that every off-chain computation is valid unless proven otherwise. ZK Rollups have higher transaction rates and cheaper fees than Optimistic Rollups, making them a more cost-effective scaling solution. Both solutions are designed to help Ethereum scale and provide users with faster and cheaper transactions.

zkSync Features

zkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum and ERC20 tokens that enables fast and cheap transfers. With a transfer fee of $0.02, a withdrawal fee of $1.59, and a one-time activation fee of $0.44, zkSync is a cost-effective way to scale transactions. It also supports gasless meta-transactions, smart contract interoperability, atomic swaps, limit orders, and native layer 2 NFTs. All of these features are open source and available to developers, making zkSync an ideal solution for crypto exchanges and other applications that require fast and cheap transactions.

It allows users to send and receive transactions faster and cheaper than on the Ethereum mainnet. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to ensure that all transactions are secure and valid. However, some users have reported slow speeds when withdrawing funds back to the L1 protocol, and dApps are less common due to the high computational power needed to prove every batch. Additionally, there is an issue of EVM compatibility, which further hinders dApps. Despite these drawbacks, ZkSync is a promising scaling solution that could help Ethereum scale and become more efficient.

Users are able to make cheap and fast transfers. It supports the majority of web3 wallets, including Metamask, Ledger, Trezor, Coinbase Wallet, Fortmatic, Portis, Keystone, KeepKey, and Torus. zkSync has brought cheaper crypto payments for millions of transfers, with over 14 million total transactions and 135 thousand verified blocks. Developers can find extensive documentation and resources to start building on the official website. The zkSync ecosystem consists of around 100 interesting projects, making it a great choice for users looking to explore the world of Ethereum scaling.

Conclusion

zkSync is a layer 2 blockchain protocol that enables fast, secure and low-cost transactions. It is a great choice for developers and gamers who want to build on the Ethereum blockchain. The zkSync ecosystem is dominated by DeFi, wallet, bridges, NFTs, and infrastructure projects. Argent, OKX Wallet, 1Inch Network, Balancer, Onto Wallet, Yearn.finance, Curve, ZigZag, Taker, Mute.io, and Reddio are some of the biggest projects onboard. Currently, zkSync doesn’t have a native token, but once it becomes fully decentralized, it will have a native token as a reward mechanism for ZK rollup operators and for staking. The zkSync AirDrop will also come with a native token.

ZkSync is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that provides high throughput of up to 100,000 transactions per second. It is powered by Zinc, a native programming language, and offers smart contract interoperability with Solidity. Hacken auditors can analyze and review zkSync smart contracts for vulnerabilities, and the blockchain is secured with a security-first mindset and professional expertise of the leading smart contract auditor. zkSync also runs a self-hosted bug bounty program and may request the assistance of professional bug bounty platforms in the future.

Frequently asked questions

What is ZKsync Era?

ZKsync Era is an Ethereum layer-2 validity rollup. It executes transactions on layer 2 and submits batch data and zero-knowledge proofs to Ethereum contracts for verification and settlement.

Is ZKsync Era live?

Yes. ZKsync Era opened to public users in March 2023. Its mainnet uses chain ID 324 and ETH for network fees.

Are ZKsync Era transactions private?

No. Zero-knowledge proofs verify state correctness efficiently, but ZKsync Era is not a privacy chain by default. Transactions, addresses and state remain publicly observable.

Does ZKsync have a token?

Yes. ZK is the protocol's governance token. Holders activate its voting power through delegation, but the token does not represent equity in Matter Labs or guarantee yield.

Can I still claim the original ZK airdrop?

No. ZK Nation says the original claim window closed on January 3, 2025. A site claiming it can reopen that allocation is a likely phishing risk.

How long does a ZKsync Era withdrawal take?

The canonical path includes a three-hour security delay, but proof generation, batching and Ethereum execution can add time. Three hours is not a guaranteed end-to-end completion time.

Is ZKsync Era an EVM?

Era runs the ZK-optimized EraVM. Developers can compile Solidity or Vyper for it, and an EVM Bytecode Interpreter supports standard EVM bytecode, but implementation differences still require testing.

What is the difference between ZKsync and an optimistic rollup?

ZKsync proves batch validity cryptographically. An optimistic rollup generally accepts state claims unless they are successfully challenged during its dispute process.

Can ZKsync process 100,000 transactions per second?

A headline throughput target is not a guaranteed live rate. Actual capacity and performance depend on transaction type, batching, protocol version, proof infrastructure and Ethereum data availability.

What are the main ZKsync Era risks?

Key risks include contract or proof-system bugs, sequencer failure or censorship, governance and upgrade powers, bridge delays, application exploits, token risk and wallet phishing.