Matter Labs plans to deprecate ZKsync Lite in 2026, marking the end of Ethereum's first zero-knowledge rollup network.
The company announced the shutdown on Sunday, framing it as a planned sunset for a proof-of-concept system.
ZKsync Lite launched in June 2020 as a payments-focused layer-2 scaling solution.
The network supported basic token transfers and NFT minting but lacked smart contract functionality.
What Happened
Matter Labs stopped active development on ZKsync Lite in March 2023.
The company launched ZKsync Era that month, a full-featured zkEVM rollup supporting smart contracts.
Approximately $50 million in user funds remain bridged to the Lite network, according to L2BEAT data.
The network now processes fewer than 330 daily operations.
By comparison, ZKsync Era handles over 22,000 user operations per day.
Era holds $36.4 million in total value locked across decentralized finance protocols, per DefiLlama.
"ZKsync Lite was a groundbreaking proof-of-concept and validated critical ideas related to building production ZK systems," the team wrote on X.
The network will continue operating until the shutdown, with funds remaining safe and withdrawals to Ethereum mainnet still available.
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Why It Matters
ZKsync Lite served as the first implementation of zero-knowledge validity proofs on Ethereum.
The network instantly confirmed transaction validity before bundling them for settlement on the mainnet.
Matter Labs will publish detailed migration plans and shutdown timelines next year.
Users holding assets on Lite face no immediate requirements for action.
The deprecation allows Matter Labs to consolidate resources on ZKsync Era and the broader ZK Stack framework.
ZKsync Era represents the company's primary development focus, offering full Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility.
The decision comes as ZKsync navigates market challenges, including the recent shutdown of its Ignite liquidity rewards program.
The platform serves as part of Ethereum's broader layer-2 scaling strategy, competing with established networks like Arbitrum and Optimism.
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