zkSync Lite to Shut Down by 2026 — Withdraw Funds or Migrate to zkSync Era
zkSync Lite (formerly zkSync 1.0), an early ZK-rollup payments-focused Layer-2 on Ethereum, will be deprecated and fully shut down by 2026. The team announced the planned sunset on Dec. 7 and urged users to withdraw funds before the shutdown; withdrawals and bridging to Ethereum L1 will remain available through the exit period. Lite processed fewer than 200 daily transactions and held roughly $50 million in user assets per L2BEAT. Development on Lite was paused in March 2023 as Matter Labs shifted focus to zkSync Era, a full zkEVM that supports arbitrary smart contracts. The project says user assets are secure and migration guidance and a detailed timeline will be published ahead of the shutdown. Traders and dApp developers are advised to move to zkSync Era or other modern zk-rollups; token, NFT and contract support already exists on successor networks, so ecosystem disruption should be limited. Key SEO keywords: zkSync Lite, zkSync Era, zk-rollup, Ethereum L2, withdrawals, migration.
Neutral
The announcement is procedural: a planned, orderly sunset of an older Layer-2 (zkSync Lite) with active withdrawals and migration options reduces systemic risk. Immediate market disruption is limited because Lite has low activity (fewer than 200 tx/day) and about $50M in deposits — material but not critical to broader ETH markets. The team paused development in 2023 and has already directed users toward zkSync Era, a live zkEVM that supports smart contracts, reducing uncertainty. Short-term impact: potential localized outflows from zkSync Lite, modest sell pressure on tokens or liquidity associated specifically with Lite custodial services. Long-term impact: neutral-to-positive for zkSync Ecosystem (Era) as capital and developers consolidate on a more feature-complete zkEVM, improving utility and developer activity. Overall, ETH price impact should be minimal; token-level effects may occur for projects tightly coupled to Lite custodial flows.