ZERO Network, the first fully gasless EVM-compatible rollup and the Layer 2 blockchain built by the team behind the Zerion wallet, announced on Thursday that it is shutting down permanently—giving users until July 31, 2026, to bridge their assets off the chain before block production ceases entirely.
“We’re winding down ZERO Network. Here’s a personal note from the team,” the project wrote in a thread on X, marking the end of an experiment that launched with the ambitious thesis that eliminating gas fees was the key to mainstream crypto adoption.
Bridging into ZERO has been disabled immediately. Bridging out remains open until July 31. After that date, the network fully shuts down and block production stops. The team emphasized that all assets — ETH, tokens, and NFTs — remain safe and fully bridgeable to Ethereum mainnet or any preferred chain during the exit window.
The Vision Was Right, the Vehicle Wasn’t
The team was candid about why ZERO is closing despite the underlying thesis remaining valid. “When we launched ZERO, we had a clear thesis: gas fees are the biggest barrier to mainstream crypto adoption. We built the first EVM-compatible, fully gasless rollup to prove that onchain UX could be radically simpler,” the announcement stated.
The results validated the thesis — zero gas for Zerion wallet users, an open paymaster for developers, and a functional demonstration that blockchain transactions could feel as frictionless as Web2 applications. But the team concluded that maintaining a standalone chain was not the most effective way to deliver that experience at scale.
“That vision was right. But after running ZERO Network, we’ve learned that the best way to deliver on that vision isn’t maintaining a standalone chain. It’s focusing our resources where they have the greatest impact for the people who are using our products every day.”
The resources—team, talent, and everything learned from operating ZERO — are being channeled into building what Zerion describes as “the best wallet and data API experience in crypto, across every chain.”
Technical Background: What ZERO Was
ZERO Network launched as a ZK rollup built on ZKsync’s ZK Stack, using the Boojum proof system for cryptographic verification and Ethereum as its data availability layer. It was designed around native account abstraction, which enabled smart accounts and one-click transactions without requiring users to hold ETH for gas.
The core innovation was its paymaster system: Zerion’s custom paymaster contract covered all transaction costs for Zerion wallet users, while also remaining open to third-party dApp developers who wanted to sponsor gas for their own users. The model was explicitly designed to absorb costs as a business expense rather than pass them to users—a departure from the typical L2 model where gas fees are merely reduced, not eliminated.
According to L2BEAT, ZERO Network operated as a Stage 0 ZK rollup with instantly upgradable contracts and whitelisted proposers. The network experienced at least one significant liveness anomaly — a 26-day gap in state updates between December 19, 2025, and January 15, 2026 — suggesting operational challenges in maintaining consistent chain performance.
The Builder Acknowledgment
The team acknowledged the developers who built on the network, naming Matter Labs, Caldera, Relay Protocol, and Highlight as teams that shipped products on ZERO. “You were the proof that the vision was real,” the announcement stated.
The message to early users was direct: “To our super users, early builders who were here from day one. You trusted us with something new. We truly appreciate your support. This wasn’t an easy decision, and we wanted you to hear it from us directly.”
Part of a Wider L2 Consolidation Wave
ZERO’s shutdown adds to what has become a growing pattern of Layer 2 and infrastructure project closures in 2026. The crypto infrastructure landscape is consolidating as the initial wave of application-specific rollups encounters the reality of maintaining a standalone chain: ongoing engineering costs, security overhead, liquidity fragmentation, and the challenge of bootstrapping enough activity to justify the operational expense.
The economics are particularly challenging for gasless chains. ZERO’s paymaster model meant the business was directly subsidizing every transaction—a sustainable approach only if the wallet ecosystem generates enough value elsewhere (through premium features, API revenue, or ecosystem growth) to offset the chain operation costs. The shutdown suggests that the equation did not balance.
For Zerion specifically, the pivot makes strategic sense. The company’s wallet product already supports multi-chain operations across Ethereum, Solana, and dozens of L2s. Operating its own chain introduced complexity without proportional user benefit—especially as competing wallets and aggregators increasingly offer gasless or gas-abstracted experiences without requiring a dedicated chain.
What Users Need to Do
The timeline is clear and the instructions are straightforward:
Bridging into ZERO is disabled immediately. Users holding any assets on ZERO — ETH, ERC-20 tokens, or NFTs—should bridge them to the Ethereum mainnet or their preferred chain as soon as possible. All assets are fully accessible and bridgeable through the official bridge. The deadline is July 31, 2026. After that date, the network shuts down completely and block production ceases.
“Don’t wait. Move your funds today,” the team wrote.
Also Read: Syndicate Labs Shuts Down as Rollup Market Loses Steam
