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Ethereum’s first ZK-rollup, ZKsync Lite, to be retired in 2026

ZKsync says its first Ethereum zero-knowledge rollup blockchain will have an “orderly sunset” next year as it has served its purpose.

ZKsync Lite, the first-ever zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup network to launch on Ethereum, will be deprecated next year, its team says, as it has fulfilled its purpose.

“In 2026, we plan to deprecate ZKsync Lite (aka ZKsync 1.0), the original ZK-rollup we launched on Ethereum,” ZKsync wrote to 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.”

It added that ZKsync Lite “was a groundbreaking proof-of-concept and validated critical ideas related to building production ZK systems.”

“It did its job: prove what’s possible and pave the way for the next generation.”

Technology company Matter Labs launched ZKsync Lite in 2020, designed for fast transfers and minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, it didn’t support smart contracts, which limited its use.