Update on ZIP-1: Decision to Resubmit Proposal Following Tooling Issue

Hello ZK Nation,

We want to share an update regarding ZIP-1, “Protocol Defense,” and the process that led to a decision made by the Security Council to recommend that ZIP-1 should be resubmitted.

Important Context

On Thursday, 5 December 2024, a tooling issue was discovered by Matter Labs in the library responsible for constructing calldata for upgrade proposals. This issue affected the encoding of the upgrade message sent from L2 (ZKsync Era) to L1, causing it to arrive in an unexpected format. As a result, the proposal has stalled and cannot be executed on L1 as planned.

Importantly, it should be noted that the upgrade data of the proposal itself is not flawed; the issue is strictly related to the formatting during encoding, not the integrity of the upgrade data.

Resolution and Next Steps

The tooling error has since been addressed, and you can review the updated code HERE.

The Security Council was presented with two paths forward:

  1. Emergency Upgrade: This path would be chosen if the council believed that not executing the ZIP-1 upgrade posed a security threat.
  2. Resubmission: If the Security Council assessed that there was no immediate security threat, the alternate path forward for the upgrade is for the proposal to be resubmitted onchain, restarting the proposal lifecycle, including a new voting period.

After careful consideration, the Security Council decided against an Emergency Upgrade, opting instead to recommend the proposal be resubmitted. This decision aligns with a commitment to transparency and due process in the governance of the protocol.

Implications for ZIP-2

Since ZIP-2 was submitted using the same infrastructure, it will face a similar halt post-voting period, which ends on Wednesday, 11 December. The same resolution path will apply to ZIP-2.

Reflection on the Governance Process

The Protocol Defense upgrade, while primarily a quality of life improvement, was chosen as the first ZIP to identify and address any issues within our governance system. This experience has been invaluable as it has tested components of our live governance system in production, ensuring readiness for major upgrades in 2025.

Timeline for Resubmission

Please keep an eye on the Forum for notifications about ZIP-1 being resubmitted. The Security Council understands that a resubmission will take place in the next 24 hours.

3 Likes