ZKsync’s Elastic Chain Vision: From Governance Vote to a Multi-Rollup Future

Title: ZKsync’s Elastic Chain Vision: From Governance Vote to a Multi-Rollup Future

Introduction

Is the future of Ethereum scaling an "elastic chain" of zk-rollups rather than a single layer-2 solution? ZKsync, long heralded for its pioneering zkEVM implementation, is evolving from a standalone rollup into an expansive ecosystem of interconnected "ZK Chains." On September 23, the ZKsync community approved a governance proposal to reduce cross-chain fees, marking the first concrete step toward this multi-rollup vision. In this article, we explore the technical foundations—recursive proving, a shared liquidity gateway, and unified account abstraction—that enable the elastic chain; detail how the protocol's $19 million Series A investment in hybrid DEX GRVT seeds native order-book liquidity; and analyze token incentives, airdrop phases, and developer grants fueling multi-rollup deployments. Finally, we compare ZKsync against Polygon's zkEVM and Starknet AppChains to identify where ZKsync can win on user experience and throughput.

The Elastic Chain Blueprint: Key Innovations

Building on its pioneering zkEVM, ZKsync’s elastic chain rests on three core innovations:

1. Recursive Proving: Aggregating multiple zk-SNARK proofs into a single L1 verification dramatically reduces per-transaction costs and supports high-throughput workloads.
2. Shared Liquidity Gateway: A central Ethereum contract lets multiple ZKsync Chains—rollups or validiums—share deposits and withdrawals, routing assets seamlessly. Proof submissions are paid in $ZK tokens, avoiding unpredictable ETH gas spikes.
3. Unified Account Abstraction: Native smart accounts eliminate friction across chains. A single layer for key management and paymasters enables meta-transactions and one-tap onboarding via Passkeys or FaceID, creating a unified UX.

Together, these elements enable horizontally scalable layer-2 deployments. Developers can launch new ZKsync Chains permissionlessly, define custom sequencing rules and tokens, and tap into the aggregate security, liquidity, and user base of the Elastic Network.

Governance Vote: Reducing Cross-Chain Fees

To operationalize these innovations at scale, the community next tackled cross-chain costs. On September 23, ZKsync token holders approved lowering the shared gateway’s withdrawal fee from 0.05 ZK to 0.02 ZK per transaction (pending parameter finalization). This vote builds on Matter Labs’ earlier plan to cancel Ethereum withdrawals after April 1, 2024, and aims to boost dApp composability and user retention across ZKsync Chains.

Seeding Native Liquidity: $19 million GRVT Investment

Following the fee reduction, the protocol turned its focus to on-chain liquidity. On September 19, GRVT—a hybrid CEX-DEX built on the ZKsync stack—closed a $19 million Series A co-led by ZKsync and Further Ventures. With $126 million in 24-hour volume and $9 million in open interest since its late-2024 mainnet alpha, GRVT will fund cross-exchange vaults, cross-chain interoperability, and EigenDA-powered privacy features. This strategic capital injection strengthens ZKsync’s native order-book depth and institutional appeal.

Token Incentives & Airdrop Phases

Alongside liquidity mechanisms, token incentives have been vital to driving adoption:

• Initial Airdrop (June 2024): 17.5% of total $ZK supply distributed to early adopters, with gas-free claims via account abstraction.
• Ignite Liquidity Program: A 300 million $ZK reward over three seasons (Jan–Mar 2025) for liquidity providers on SyncSwap and ZKsync Era lending platforms, boosting TVL from $97 million to $184 million.
• Future Airdrops: Additional allocations (~5.8% and 2.4% of supply) for protocol guilds and developers, disbursed monthly through community channels and Gitcoin grants.

The ZKsync Foundation has also reserved 19.9% of the supply for ecosystem incentives—developer grants, educational initiatives, and tooling bounties—critical to a multi-rollup future.

Developer Grants & Tooling for Multi-Rollup Deployments

To empower the developer community, robust tooling is in place:

• Grant Programs: ZK Nation governance approved 33 million $ZK (~$1.65 million) for infrastructure and tooling grants through December 2026.
• SDKs & Frameworks: The open-source ZKsync Stack offers kits for L2 deployment, chain-type management, and shared-bridge integrations. Community frameworks like ZKx and SyncStack simplify cross-chain messaging.
• Hackathons & Bounties: Regular hackathons, bootcamps, and community calls incentivize patterns from atomic swaps to multi-rollup composability.

These initiatives ensure spinning up a bespoke ZKsync Chain takes minutes, not months, reinforcing the elastic network vision.

Competitive Positioning: Polygon zkEVM & Starknet AppChains

With these building blocks in place, how does ZKsync stack up?

• Throughput & Fees: ZKsync 2.0’s recursive batching targets >100,000 TPS, driving L1 gas per txn below 200 units, versus ~2,000 TPS on Polygon zkEVM.
• EVM Equivalence vs. Performance: Polygon zkEVM delivers full EVM equivalence; ZKsync’s custom LLVM-based VM supports Rust and C++, trading minor compatibility for faster proof generation.
• AppChains: Unlike Starknet’s independent sequencer and bridge per chain, ZKsync offers permissionless launches with a unified gateway and governance for frictionless cross-chain UX.
• Unified UX: Native account abstraction and paymasters make multi-rollup navigation feel like a single chain, eliminating third-party bridges and manual approvals.

Actionable Takeaways for Builders

1. Evaluate sequencing: choose ZKsync Chains for rapid, decentralized launches with shared settlement guarantees or Starknet for specialized appchains.
2. Leverage grants & bounties: apply for ZKsync governance grants and watch monthly Gitcoin cycles.
3. Plan for native liquidity: integrate GRVT or SyncSwap order books to capture institutional flows.
4. Optimize fees: batch interactions and use upcoming fee reductions to capitalize on sub-200-gas proof settlements.
5. Design for composability: build with cross-chain messaging and multi-chain smart accounts for atomic transactions without external bridges.

Conclusion

ZKsync’s elastic chain vision—anchored by governance-driven fee cuts, strategic GRVT investment, and robust incentive programs—presents a compelling blueprint for builders seeking both scale and interoperability. As the zk-rollup landscape heats up, multi-rollup architectures will power the next wave of zk-native applications. The time to experiment is now.