ZKsync Era's Total Value Locked balloons to $400M following the implementation of an Incentive Program
zkSync Era: A Leading Layer 2 Scaling Solution for Ethereum
In the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), zkSync Era has emerged as a leading layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. With a total value locked (TVL) of over $400 million, zkSync Era offers full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility and leverages zero-knowledge proofs (STARKs wrapped in SNARKs) for secure, scalable transaction validation.
As of mid-2025, zkSync Era achieves an average throughput of about 14 transactions per second (TPS), with daily activity exceeding 4 million transactions. Although it is not the fastest by TPS alone, it performs well compared to other Ethereum layer 2 solutions. For instance, Arbitrum, another popular L2 rollup but not zkEVM-based, maintains a throughput of 8–10 TPS with over 2.3 million daily transactions.
One of the key factors contributing to zkSync Era's success is its robust ecosystem. The top three largest dapps on the network are lending protocols, including Aave V3, Venus Core Pool, and ZeroLend, with TVL on Era ranging between $70 and $80 million. ZeroLend, currently the third-largest dapp, has seen a significant increase in TVL, nearly 600% in the past month, reaching a record $75 million.
The mainnet of zkSync Era was launched in March 2023 and crossed the $200 million mark within less than three months. This impressive growth is attributed to the Ignite program, which launched earlier this month and distributes 300 million tokens worth about $600 million as incentives over nine months.
In addition to performance, zkSync Era is notable for recent developments such as the implementation of the ‘Gateway’ settlement layer migration on July 28, 2025, enhancing settlement security and censorship resistance. There was also a temporary manual pause of the proof system in late July 2025 due to a discovered vulnerability, demonstrating active risk management.
zkSync Era supports most Ethereum smart contracts without modification, attracting developers from diverse programming backgrounds. Its ecosystem activity remains robust with millions of daily transactions and ongoing technical upgrades.
Compared to other zkEVM solutions, zkSync Era stands out for its leading daily transaction volume, its novel proof system combining STARKs and SNARKs, and its role as the first to migrate to the Gateway settlement layer. While exact TPS comparisons to other zkEVM rollups like Polygon zkEVM or Scroll are not detailed, zkSync Era’s throughput and daily activity metrics, combined with technical innovations, place it among the top-performing zkEVM rollups as of 2025.
In summary, zkSync Era demonstrates strong performance and growth, with an average 14 TPS and millions of transactions daily, competitive with other Ethereum layer 2s, and benefits from continuous technical advances and ecosystem expansion.
In the competitive landscape of decentralized finance (DeFi), zkSync Era's daily transaction volume exceeds 4 million, placing it among the top performing Ethereum layer 2 solutions, outperforming some alternatives like Arbitrum. This superior performance is supported by zkSync Era's unique combination of STARKs and SNARKs for scalable transaction validation and its robust ecosystem, which includes popular lending platforms such as Aave V3, Venus Core Pool, and ZeroLend.
