Q1 – Key Insights

Key Findings

Q1 was eventful for ZKsync and the Elastic Network. We saw several development milestones reached, major ZK Chain launches, and ZKsync Era becoming the dominant chain in terms of both activity and total value locked (TVL).

We recommend reading our previous deep dive, ZKsync & The Elastic Network Endgame, for a complete analysis of the elastic architecture and the technology underpinning its benefits.

As we covered the technical aspects of the ZK sync architecture in detail during the previous report, the focus of this memo will be on the latest ecosystem and technological developments.

The Essence of the Elastic Network

The Elastic Network is a modular and interoperable ecosystem of appchains, each specialized for a specific use case. This stands in contrast to the appchain thesis, which envisions a single chain handling diverse use cases.

Each chain in the Elastic Network is a complete modular L2 chain, offering a unique instance of the EVM, smart contracts, and a community of developers and users. They are interconnected via a shared settlement layer, enabling seamless interoperability and asset transferability.

The architecture of the Elastic Network rests on three pillars:

The ZK Stack, an open-source modular framework, enables anyone to build a ZK Chain quickly and easily. Devs can select and combine components like the consensus algorithm, programming language, and virtual machine to tailor the chain to their needs.

The shared settlement layer, secured by ZK proofs and economically linked to Ethereum, provides the finality and interoperability for all chains in the network. This contrasts with the chain-specific token models of other modular frameworks.

Finally, the common building blocks and shared tooling streamline the development process and reduce maintenance burdens.

In essence, the Elastic Network aims to realize the appchain vision using ZK technology and a shared settlement layer.

The promise of the Elastic Network is realized through its unique benefits to the ZK Chains in its ecosystem. Utilizing the ZK Stack, ZKsync’s open-source codebase, anyone can build a modular ZK Chain and easily integrate with the Elastic Network to be part of an ecosystem that benefits from:

To date, this has attracted over 19+ unique chains focused on institutional tokenization, permissioned private blockchain solutions, gaming, and consumer applications, creating a vast ecosystem of interoperable L2s.

With RaaS providers such as Caldera, Alchemy, Quicknode, Ankr, and Zeeve, deployment of a ZK Chain is as simple as clicking a few buttons.

At the beginning of this year, we published our deep dive, ZKsync & The Elastic Network Endgame, which thoroughly dissects its elastic architecture and dives into the tech behind the benefits – a recommended read for anyone interested in learning more about the design.

Much has happened in the ecosystem since then, presenting a great opportunity to discuss the latest ecosystem and tech developments.

Checking in on ZKsync Era

Over the course of Q1 2025, ZKsync Era has solidified its position as the dominant ZK rollup.

With over 9.97 million unique addresses, 470,000 monthly active users, and nearly 1 million unique contract creators, ZKsync leads all ZK rollups in key activity metrics.

In terms of assets, ZKsync Era also ranks as the top ZK rollup by both TVS, total value secured, and TVL, securing over $780m and $190m, respectively.

Most notably, ZKsync Era has experienced remarkable growth in tokenized assets on the network. Fueled by initiatives like Fidelity International and Sygnum’s collaboration to bring NAV data onchain and Tradable’s efforts to build a full-scale private credit market onchain, total RWA value on Era now exceeds $2.032B.

Representing over 27% of the total RWA market share, ZKsync Era is now positioned at the top among all rollups and second across all networks, trailing only Ethereum.

This incredible growth is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire ZKsync team and the amazing community of developers and users who are building on ZKsync Era.

Together, they are making the Elastic Network a reality, one innovative application at a time.

The mainnet launch of Abstract on January 28, 2025 was one of the major ZK Chain launches we saw in Q1 2025.

Built on top of the ZK Stack, Abstract is a ZK rollup designed to provide low transaction fees and high scalability for consumer-focused applications and products. Specializing in consumer crypto, Abstract prioritizes UX, aiming to combine the best of web2 with the best of web3. For instance, users can easily set up an Abstract Global Wallet (AGW) using just their email address.