ZKsync Governance System Infrastructure Funding
This proposal passed with a majority of 866M ZK in-favor of the proposal. See final results here.
| Title | ZKsync Governance System Infrastructure Funding |
|---|---|
| Proposal Type | TPP |
| One Sentence Summary | Allocate ~$1.65M USD (33M ZK at $0.05/ZK) in services to maintain and evolve the governance infrastructure, critical for executing ZKsync’s protocol upgrades, token programs, and network coordination until December 31, 2026. |
| Proposal Author | ZKsync Association |
| Proposal Sponsor | TBD |
| Date Created | September 2025 |
| Version | v1.0 |
| Summary of Action | This proposal activates a capped minter with access to 33M ZK, approximately $1.65M USD, with a rate-limit of 8M ZK per month. The ZKsync Association will serve as the manager of these services and will facilitate disbursements via capped minters under approved scope. |
| Link to proposal discussion | TBA |
Abstract
This proposal funds governance infrastructure that power protocol upgrades, token distribution, and coordination across the ZKsync ecosystem.
This Token Program Proposal (TPP) approves a ZK Capped Minter for ~33M ZK, approximately $1.65M USD calculated at $0.05/ZK, with a rate limit of up to 8M ZK per month, and an expiry date of December 31, 2026.
The ZKsync Association’s governance team will serve as the manager of these services and will facilitate disbursements via capped minters under approved scope. The token allocation request does not include any tokens for the ZKsync Association itself, salaries, or other operational overhead.
Motivation
The ZKsync Governance System launched on September 12th 2024, activating the governance smart-contracts, interfaces, and operations.
Governance systems underpin major coordination functions in the ZKsync ecosystem. These include executing protocol upgrades, activating new token programs, and responding to protocol emergencies. Ensuring these systems remain secure, adaptable, and easy to use is critical to delivering on ZKsync’s roadmap.
Since launch, the ZKsync Association’s Governance Team has played the role of facilitator, steward, and quality manager in design, launch, and maintenance of the system. The Governance Team works in close collaboration with the Security Council, Guardians, ZKsync Foundation and Token Assembly Delegates. This role closely aligns with multiple of the ZKsync Association’s purposes, as defined in their Articles of Association. For example:
2.2 Support the development of secure, transparent and censorship resistant digital infrastructures for the benefit of the society;
2.5 Promote the democratization and decentralization of blockchain technology and ensure that engagement in the development and governance of ZK protocols and similar technology is possible for all individuals, irrespective of their origin and financial resources;
Figure 1: The ZKsync Association supports and helps secure the ZKsync governance system
The work from today until the end of 2026 will maintain and responsively evolve the infrastructure activated at launch.
This proposal scope and token allocation assumes the ZKsync Association’s Governance Team serves as the program administrator of this TPP, responsible for execution of the scope and any required service provider selection and management. The Governance Team would use their resources and relationships to maintain and improve the security, capability, and accessibility of ZKsync governance. Tactical services scope will be defined by the Governance Team, along with the necessary service provider selection process.
Performance is measured via metrics tracking governance security, reliability, responsiveness, and participation. These include voting power, time to quorum, incidents, and protocol upgrades approved via standard upgrades.
The ZKsync Association will coordinate legal contracts between service providers and ZKGPS based on performance history, ecosystem alignment, and cost. A full service provider history is available for reference.
Funding Specification
The ZKsync Association’s Governance Team will manage service providers responsible for core governance infrastructure and facilitate token allocations using capped minters. This includes:
- Publishing a roadmap for governance, aligned with protocol and ecosystem priorities.
- Managing RFPs for service delivery based on scope and urgency.
- Creating and administering capped minters for compensating participating service providers.
Governance Activities Overview
| Activity Category | Description | Scope of Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Governance Contracts for Protocol and Token Coordination | Maintain capped minter contracts, minter mods, governor contracts, related L1 contracts such as custom multisigs, the ZK token contract, and any other related smart-contract. | Governors and Timelocks Compatibility with Upgrade Handler ZK Token Contract Capped Minters and Minter Mods Emergency Board, Guardians, and Security Council Multisigs Token Mechanics Patterns Token Mechanics Deployments Other smart-contracts |
| 2. Governance Interfaces and Participation Tooling | Maintain the Governance Portal, Governance Forum, Github Repo, ZK Nation Website, Documentation, communication channels, RSS governance feed, and other related interfaces. | Canonical Governance Portal Secondary Governance Portal Governance Forum Governance Analytics ZK Nation Website ZK Nation BlogZK Nation Docs ZK Nation Brand Assets and Content GovFeed RSS GitHub Repository Other communication channels (Twitter, Telegram, etc.) |
| 3. Security Infrastructure for Protocol and Token Safety | Continue security efforts related to monitoring, assessment frameworks, reviews, audits, and security rehearsals. Governance audits are available for review at the ZKsync Docs. | Governance Audits Capped Minter Audits Proposal Verification Tool Contract Monitoring Security Reviews Security Policies Governance Action Rehearsals Threat Modelling and Simulations Incident Response Management |
| 4. Operational and Legal Infrastructure for Decentralized Execution | Maintain legal entities, regulatory requirements (e.g. MiCA whitepaper), and other related operations such as legal contract management for ZKGPS, ZKsync Guardians, and token programs. | Legal Counsel IP Management Security Council Operations ZKGPS Operations Integrations with custodians Global SteerCo, Proposal Contributors General Token Program Analytics Regulatory Alignment (e.g. MICAR) Other Token Program needs |
Funding Request Summary
The requested costs for the period of September 2025 to December 2026 are derived from direct experience preparing, launching, and maintaining governance infrastructure from 2024 through to the end of August 2025. Each category contributes to the system’s capacity to deploy secure, adaptive, and decentralized upgrades.
As noted in the table, operations were supported by donations and services from both Matter Labs and the ZKsync Foundation.
| Activity Category | Requested ZK @ $0.05 | USD Forecast September 2025 to December 2026 | USD Reference Resource Costs from Jan 2024-August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Governance Contracts for Protocol and Token Coordination | 7,100,000 | $355,000 | ~$1,050,000 |
| 2. Governance Interfaces and Participation Tooling | 9,566,660 | $478,333 | ~$420,000 |
| 3. Security Infrastructure for Protocol and Token Safety | 7,987,500 | $399,375 | ~$770,000 |
| 4. Operational and Legal Infrastructure for Decentralized Execution | 8,250,000 | $412,500 | ~$710,000 |
| Total | 33,000,000 ZK [Rounded 32,904,160 ZK] |
$1,645,208 | ~$2,950,000 Bootstrapped via donations from Matter Labs and support from the ZKsync Foundation |
Funding Request Analysis Assumptions
- Reference Cost Estimate: References from 2024-2025 includes governance-related service provider invoices as well as a conservative estimate of engineering effort at industry rate.
- Forecast Cost Estimate: Includes linear projection of ongoing services required for regular operations.
- Out of Scope: The costs in the requested budget exclude ZKsync Security Council member payments, ZKsync Guardians member compensation, ZKsync Association Directorships, Governance Team salary and overhead costs, ZKsync Association coordinated events, or ZKsync Association education initiatives.
- Audit Costs: Any protocol upgrades related to the scope of this proposal are planned to be audited using the token allocation from this proposal. As a result, they would opt-out of security audit reimbursements via TPP3 ZKsync Audit Reimbursement Program (ZARP).
- Category Budget Flexibility: The ZKsync Association Governance Team may adjust spending across categories. Services and category-level token allocations will be communicated to the Token Assembly through the ZKsync Governance Forum.
- Includes a 20% budget buffer to account for:
- Additional significant smart-contract changes when aligning to new protocol components such as Gateway.
- Additional security requirements.
- Additional regulatory requirements.
- Estimates Rounding: Historical figures rounded to nearest $10k. Final ZK figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000,000 ZK.
Capped Minter Structure
| Capped Minter | Smart-Contract Admin Role | Smart-Contract Minter Role | Smart-Contract Pauser Role | Minting Start | Minting End | Token Configuration Parameters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zk_Governance_2025 (Parent Capped Minter) |
Token Governor Timelock | Zk_Governance_RateLimit_2025 |
Security Council | September 1, 2025 | December 31, 2026 | Cap: 33,000,000 ZK |
Zk_Governance_RateLimit_2025 (Rate Limit Modifier) |
Token Governor Timelock | Zk_Governance_Operations_2025 |
Security Council via Parent Capped Minter | n/a | n/a | Rate Limit: 8M ZK per month |
Zk_Governance_Operations_2025 (Child Capped Minter) |
ZKsync Association Governance Team Multisig | Child Capped Minters for Service Providers | Security Council via Parent Capped Minter | September 1, 2025 | December 31, 2026 | Cap: 33,000,000 ZK |
| Child Capped Minters for Service Providers (Child Capped Minters) | Service Providers | Service Providers | ZKsync Association Multisig; Security Council via Parent Capped Minter | Aligned to Services | Aligned to Services | Aligned to Services |
- Capped Minters will be subject to a global rate limit of 8M ZK per month. This rate limit is designed to accommodate variations in spending and potential token volatility.
- Minting rights allow service providers to mint at their discretion within the minting window. Service provider minters is subject to the global rate limit.
Accountability
- Token Allocation Tracking: Token minting will be available for public review using the ZKsync Capped Minter Dune Dashboard, or alternative interface if applicable.
- Governance Forum Posts: The ZKsync Association Governance Team will publish updates on the forum at the start and end of contracted services. Should a book of work extend beyond three months, an intermediate update will be included.
- Token Assembly Oversight: The Token Assembly may cancel the parent capped minter at any point via a Token Program Proposal and revoke any further disbursements.
- Security Council Oversight: The Security Council may pause the parent capped minter at any point if deemed necessary.
- Annual Reports: The ZKsync Association Governance Team will publish a report annually, or otherwise required by any future governance guidance. The report will summarize:
- Governance system updates
- Selected service providers and contracted scope of work
- Total token allocations by category
- Excess Tokens: Any excess tokens not used for the budget should remain unminted. If excess tokens are minted, they will be returned to the control of the Token Assembly.
- Budget Changes: If budget requirements increase beyond the request, the ZKsync Association Governance Team will submit a Governance Advisory Proposal (GAP) to authorize the budget increase and any relevant scope changes.
Governance Team Metrics
The primary metrics for the governance system functionality are as follows:
| Metric^ | Current (as of Sept 9 2025) | Objective (18-months) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category A: Security and Reliability | |||
| A.1 % of ZKsync standard protocol upgrades voted on by Token Assembly | 100% | 100% | Shows system is working as expected, no emergency actions needed for standard upgrades. |
| A.2 Number of governance incidents (Operational or Onchain) | 1** | 0 | Tracks errors in governance infrastructure design, deployment, and monitoring. Excludes protocol-specific incidents and emergency actions. |
| A.3 % Token Proposals configured correctly with capped minters | 100% | 100% | Reflects adoption of infra across ecosystem |
| — | — | — | — |
| Category B: Responsiveness and Participation | |||
| B.1 Average time to quorum in last 5 votes (days) | 4.6 days | 3 days | Faster quorum = more responsive system. |
| B.2 Active* delegates voting power | ~980 Million | 2 Billion | The goal is to double active governance engagement. |
| B.3 % of ZKsync Partners active* in governance | Not Tracked | >80%*** | Ties governance infra to real-world ecosystem orgs. |
| B.4 % of Emergency Upgrade Board members who responded in at least 1 of last 2 actions (rehearsal or upgrade) | Not Tracked | 100% | Ensures all critical signers are active and responsive in case of emergency. |
*^Public metrics are available for review on the ZK Nation Governance Performance Dune Dashboard.
*Active means voted at least twice in recent 5 votes
**Further details related to the governance incident are available on the ZKsync blog.
**Exclude ZKsync Partners who are not be eligible to participate in governance due to legal requirements or other business policy. In some cases, ZKsync Partners would participate indirectly via delegation, which would satisfy the criteria.
Participants
- ZKsync Association Governance Team: Defines governance improvement roadmap, creates new capped minters, and manages tactical work from service providers.
- Service Providers: Responsible for completion of work in alignment with ZKsync Governance System Needs.
- **ZKGPS:** Serves as legal counterparty for service providers.
- Token Assembly: Oversees minting and retains final authority to halt program.