What to Know:
- Etherscan will stop indexing ZKsync Era on January 7, 2026, with users and developers directed to migrate to the ZKsync native explorer for viewing blocks, transactions, and contracts.
- Matter Labs said the shift reflects ZKsync’s move toward protocol-native features such as interop transactions, Gateway settlement, and expanded EVM compiler support that require a dedicated explorer.
- The change comes alongside a broader consolidation around the ZKsync Era, following plans to retire ZKsync Lite in 2026.
ZKsync is preparing for an infrastructure shift as Etherscan support for ZKsync Era is set to end on January 7, 2026, marking a decisive move toward protocol-native tooling across its growing ecosystem. The change, confirmed in an official blog update, signals a broader effort by Matter Labs to align developer and user activity around the ZKsync native explorer as the network expands beyond a single Ethereum layer-2 chain.
Etherscan Support for ZKsync Era To End
From early January 2026, Etherscan will stop indexing the ZKsync Era. Users looking to view blocks, transactions, and smart contracts on the network will need to rely on the ZKsync native explorer, which is shipped as part of the ZK Stack and maintained at the protocol level. The team says the shift will allow deeper support for features that standard Ethereum Virtual Machine explorers are not designed to fully understand.
Etherscan support for ZKsync Era will be discontinued on Jan 7th, 2026.
This allows us to prioritize the ZKsync native explorer and support protocol-native features like interop transactions, Gateway settlement, and additional EVM compilers like solx.
ZKsync native explorer →…
— ZKsync Developers (∎, ∆) (@zkSyncDevs) December 22, 2025
ZKsync has moved into a phase where it operates as a network of interconnected chains rather than a standalone rollup. This architecture introduces protocol-level capabilities that go beyond typical EVM assumptions. These include interop transactions that span multiple ZKsync chains, bundled cross-chain operations, and native handling of ZKsync Gateway, which can act as an optional settlement layer depending on configuration. The network has also expanded compiler support, including the recently introduced LLVM-based Solidity compiler, solx.
According to the ZKsync team, these features require an explorer that is built with native awareness of how the protocol functions. Maintaining compatibility with Etherscan would limit how quickly and consistently these capabilities could be surfaced across the ecosystem. By concentrating development on its own explorer, ZKsync aims to provide uniform visibility into interop activity, settlement flows, and execution details that are specific to its stack.
Developers are being advised to begin preparing for the transition well ahead of the January 2026 cutoff. This includes updating bookmarks, dashboards, and internal tooling to point to the ZKsync native explorer. Projects that rely on Etherscan APIs will also need to plan a migration to the native explorer’s APIs to avoid disruptions. Etherscan has published general guidance for explorer discontinuations, which ZKsync recommends teams review as part of the process.
The explorer shift comes as ZKsync broadens its ambitions beyond public crypto infrastructure. Matter Labs has recently introduced a private chain framework called Prividiums, built on the ZKsync Stack. These permissioned validium deployments allow institutions to run blockchains within their own infrastructure or cloud environments, keeping transaction data and state offchain in operator-controlled databases while anchoring correctness to Ethereum through validity proofs.
The infrastructure changes also follow earlier decisions to retire legacy components. In early December, Matter Labs reiterated plans to sunset ZKsync Lite in 2026. Launched in June 2020 as Ethereum’s first zero-knowledge payment rollup, ZKsync Lite served as an early proof of concept. The team has described its retirement as an orderly transition that will not affect other ZKsync systems. ZKsync Lite focused on basic transfers, NFT minting, and swaps, but lacked smart contract support, limiting its long-term relevance once ZKsync Era and the ZK Stack delivered full EVM compatibility.
ZKsync Era, launched in 2023, has since become the network’s primary execution environment, consolidating liquidity, tooling, and developer activity. Recent data shows fewer than 200 daily operations on ZKsync Lite, underlining how thoroughly usage has shifted to Era.
As of the latest market data, the ZKsync token is trading at $0.02736, down 1.22 percent over the past 24 hours.
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