ZKnomics Token Staking Pilot - What It Is, why it matters & how to prepare
Hey everyone! Following my update on the Staking Pilot rollout timelines, I wanted to follow up with a more comprehensive overview of what ZK staking entails and how tokenholders can prepare as we near the launch of ZK staking.
What is ZK Staking?
The ZKnomics Token Staking Pilot Program trials a ZK token staking rewards program over 6 months. The annual rewards rate will start at 3% and can rise up as high as 10% to achieve its participation target. Tokenholders stake ZK, delegate their votes to active governance participants, and earn rewards.
The proposal advances the ZKnomics Vision by serving two purposes: creating meaningful incentives for governance participation while building the staking infrastructure required for ZKsync’s decentralized sequencer. The system is forward compatible with decentralized sequencing, meaning what we’re deploying now becomes foundational infrastructure for the network’s future.
Program Mechanics
To start, ZKsync governance has authorized rewards for the first two seasons:
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Season 1 (Q1 2026): Up to 10M ZK distributed over 3 months, targeting 400M ZK staked total. The annual rate starts at 3%. It will rise up to 10% (annually) or stop when the 400M staked ZK target is met, whichever happens first. This effectively means that the max APR for season 1 is 2.5% since it runs for 3 months.
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Season 2 (Q2 2026): Up to 25M ZK distributed over 3 months, targeting 1B ZK staked total (2.5% for 3 months / 10% annualized). It will rise up to 10% or stop when the 400M staked ZK target is met, whichever happens first.
The Active Delegation Requirement
Reward eligibility requires delegating to an “active” delegate. A delegate is “active” if they have voted in at least 2 of the last 5 governance votes.
The goal is to strengthen the protocol by pulling more voting power into governance. Active voting power currently sits around 1B ZK, and the goal is to double that. By tying rewards to active delegation, the program creates a direct incentive for tokenholders to support delegates who consistently participate in governance.
There is no locking period. Stakers can stake, unstake, or change their delegation at any time.
How to Prepare
If you’re a tokenholder looking to stake, now is a good time to evaluate delegate activity. Which delegates are voting consistently? Who is engaged with proposals? Having a delegate in mind before Season 1 launches will ensure you’re ready to participate from day one.
If you’re a delegate, maintain your governance activity. Meeting the 2 out of 5 vote threshold makes you eligible to receive delegations from stakers.
We’ll share additional details on the staking interface and specific launch timing as we wrap up testing. Thank you for your patience as we work through the final stages of preparation.
Feel free to post any questions below.