About ZKsync Era - ZKsync Docs

ZKsync Era is a Layer 2 rollup built with the ZK Stack, designed to scale Ethereum using zero-knowledge proofs while preserving its security. It was the first chain launched with the ZK Stack and the first member of the Elastic Network, which now includes over 15 interconnected ZK chains.

Position in the Ecosystem

ZKsync Era forms the foundation of the Elastic Network, a growing set of ZKsync chains that interoperate through shared proofs and trustless bridging. As the first ZKsync chain, it serves as the main hub for the ecosystem’s activity and infrastructure.

Era is where the ZK token was initially deployed and where on-chain governance takes place, making it the coordination layer for protocol upgrades and community decision-making. Because of its early launch and adoption, ZKsync Era integrates with major exchanges, infrastructure providers such as Chainlink, and hosts deployments from many leading DeFi protocols.

These integrations, assets, and tools will be accessible to other ZKsync chains through ZKsync Connect, ensuring that all chains in the Elastic Network benefit from access to the same liquidity, infrastructure, and ecosystem support while maintaining independent execution environments.

Developer Experience

ZKsync Era is designed to feel familiar to Ethereum developers. ZKsync Era uses EraVM as its core virtual machine. Contracts compiled for EraVM run directly on EraVM. Standard EVM bytecode is supported through the EVM Bytecode Interpreter, which executes that bytecode on top of EraVM.

For the lower-level execution model and tradeoffs, see the EVM Bytecode Interpreter documentation.

This lets teams use common Ethereum tools such as Hardhat, Foundry, and Remix. Teams that want the most efficient execution path can still compile contracts for EraVM directly using custom compilers and plugins.

Although ZKsync Era continues to run on EraVM, all new ZKsync chains use ZKsync OS.

User Experience

For end users, transactions on ZKsync Era offer faster confirmations and significantly lower fees compared to Ethereum mainnet. Era also supports native account abstraction, enabling smart wallets, flexible fee payments using ERC-20 tokens, and features like paymasters for gas sponsorship.

FAQs

Answers to frequently asked questions about ZKsync OS.

ZKsync Era RPC

Step-by-step guide to connect your wallet to ZKsync Era mainnet and testnet.