Key Highlights
- ZKsync plans to retire its original Lite rollup in 2026 while keeping user funds safe.
- Development focus has shifted to zkSync Era and modular ZK-based chains with smart contracts.
- Around $50 million remains on Lite, with withdrawals to Ethereum Layer-1 (L1) continuing during deprecation.
zkSync, one of Ethereum’s early Layer‑2 (L2) scaling projects, has announced that it will sunset its original rollup, zkSync Lite (formerly zkSync 1.0), at some point in 2026.
The team described the move as a “planned, orderly sunset for a system that has served its purpose,” adding that the deprecation will not affect any of its newer products.
What is happening and when
Launched in June 2020, zkSync Lite aimed to deliver cheap, fast token transfers, atomic swaps, and NFT minting on Ethereum. But, it lacked support for smart contracts, a key limitation as the use of decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized applications (dApps) grew.
Now, after five years in operation and with usage largely dormant, the project behind zkSync has decided to phase Lite out next year. While the exact date and detailed migration guidance haven’t been shared yet, the team said they will publish them in the coming months.
Why this matters and why now
The decision signals a shift in focus. Since March 2023, development efforts have centered on zkSync Era, a full-featured zkEVM that supports arbitrary smart contracts, rather than the older Lite rollup.
Recently, two major ecosystem updates happened. Firstly, the ZK token governance and utility upgrade, expanding ZK’s role in protocol decisions and future sequencing markets. And secondly, the Atlas upgrade before that which introduced unified liquidity across ZK Stack chains—an architecture Lite cannot integrate with.
The migration has slowly shifted to the developers and users, making Lite have less than 200 daily operations. Despite its low activity, around $50 million in user funds remain bridged to zkSync Lite, per data from L2BEAT.
The team assures users that funds remain safe and withdrawals to Ethereum’s mainnet (L1) will continue working during and after the deprecation process. The retirement also comes after a challenging period for zkSync.
Earlier in 2025, the network shut down its liquidity‑rewards program ZKsync Ignite, citing bearish market conditions and a strategic pivot toward building a broader modular ecosystem called ZK Stack.
What this means for users and the broader ecosystem
For users still holding assets on zkSync Lite, this announcement serves as a clear signal, they should plan to withdraw or migrate their funds before or during the deprecation process.
While zkSync promises support for withdrawals, liquidity or ecosystem support for Lite, such as third‑party bridges or trading pairs, may dry up over time. For zkSync itself, this move allows the team to concentrate on Era, ZK Stack, and future modular ZK-based chains.
By clearing legacy infrastructure, developers can allocate resources toward systems with smart‑contract capability, interoperability, and long-term growth potential.
As the blockchain community watches this shift, zkSync Lite’s retirement marks both an end and a beginning. It closes a chapter on Ethereum’s early zero‑knowledge experiments, and clears the path for next‑generation Layer‑2 innovations.
Also Read: ZKsync and LNET Team Up on Private RBF Systems in LATAM
