ZKsync has officially confirmed that its original ZKsync Lite network will be fully deprecated on May 4, 2026. The team announced that block production will stop permanently on that date, and the network's final state will be frozen, ensuring balances cannot change after the cutoff.
The shutdown marks the formal end of ZKsync Lite, which was launched in 2020 (originally as ZKsync 1.0) as a payment-focused zero-knowledge rollup on Ethereum. The network supported token transfers, atomic swaps, and NFT minting but did not include smart contract functionality. Development on Lite halted in March 2023 as Matter Labs, the team behind ZKsync, shifted its focus to the newer ZKsync Era and the broader ZK Stack framework.
Approximately $33.9 million in assets remains bridged to ZKsync Lite according to data from L2BEAT. This total includes nearly $24.9 million in stablecoins, about $8.4 million in ETH and its derivatives, over $313,000 in BTC derivatives, and roughly $231,000 in other assets.
The team emphasized that all user funds will remain fully claimable even after the network shutdown. Users are encouraged to withdraw assets before May 4 for greater convenience, but funds left on the network will still be accessible. Claiming tools will be released immediately after block production stops, and a read-only API will remain available for at least one year to support data retrieval and historical verification.
The deprecation is described as a "planned and orderly sunset" for a system that has served its purpose. The move does not affect ZKsync Era or any chains built using the ZK Stack framework, which will continue operating without disruption. The ZKsync team stated that additional guidance will be shared ahead of the deadline to keep users informed.
