zkSync 2.0 launched on mainnet in 2023 as ZKsync Era, a ZK rollup that settles to Ethereum with validity proofs. For NFT platforms, its standout features are native account abstraction and paymasters, which let you sponsor gas or accept fees in other tokens. The catch is that it is EVM-compatible rather than EVM-identical, so contracts and tooling need some adjustment.
Names have changed
Older material calls it "zkSync 2.0" and refers to gas as "ergs". Today the network is ZKsync Era, gas is just gas, and Era is one chain in a wider family of ZK chains built with Matter Labs' ZK Stack, which can interoperate and settle to Ethereum. The original zkSync 1.0 is now called ZKsync Lite and is a separate, payments-only system that does not support general smart contracts. Check the official ZKsync documentation for current details, since the stack evolves quickly.
Why NFT platforms consider ZKsync Era
- Lower fees than Ethereum mainnet, with security from validity proofs posted to Ethereum.
- Native account abstraction: every account can be a smart contract account. You can offer gasless minting, session keys for games, and social or passkey-based recovery without ERC-4337 infrastructure.
- Paymasters: a contract that pays gas on a user's behalf, either fully sponsored or in exchange for an ERC-20 token. For NFT drops, this removes the "you need ETH first" problem.
- Solidity support: most Solidity code compiles and runs with minor changes.
EVM differences that affect NFT contracts
Historically, ZKsync Era ran its own virtual machine, EraVM, and Solidity was compiled to it with a dedicated compiler (zksolc) rather than to standard EVM bytecode. Matter Labs has since added support for executing standard EVM bytecode, but many existing deployments and tools still assume the EraVM path. Differences worth checking:
| Area | Difference | NFT impact |
|---|---|---|
| Contract deployment | Handled by a system contract; the bytecode must be known to the network | Factories that deploy collections need adjusted deployment code |
| CREATE2 addresses | Derived differently from Ethereum | Pre-computed or "same address on every chain" collections do not carry over automatically |
| Gas metering | Different costs for storage and computation, plus L1 data costs | Re-benchmark mint and transfer costs; do not reuse mainnet estimates |
| Accounts | All accounts can be smart accounts | Do not assume tx.origin or an EOA signature; use EIP-1271 for signature checks |
| Precompiles and opcodes | Some behave differently or are unsupported in EraVM | Audit any low-level assembly in metadata or randomness code |
Signature handling deserves attention. If your marketplace verifies EIP-712 orders with ecrecover only, smart-account users cannot list. Support EIP-1271 contract signatures as well.
Tooling
- Hardhat with Matter Labs' ZKsync plugins for compiling with
zksolc, deploying and verifying. - A ZKsync-specific Foundry fork for Foundry users.
- The
zksync-ethersSDK (an extension of ethers.js) for paymaster flows and custom transaction types; viem also includes ZKsync support. - Local development node and the Sepolia-based ZKsync testnet.
Integration paths
- New deployment: deploy collection and marketplace contracts natively on ZKsync Era. Simplest option for new drops and games.
- Add a chain to an existing platform: extend your indexer, wallet connection and order book to ZKsync Era alongside existing networks; keep listings separate per chain.
- Migrate an existing collection: either bridge tokens (requires a custom NFT bridge, since the canonical bridge focuses on ETH and ERC-20) or snapshot and re-mint on ZKsync with the original contract frozen. Re-minting is common but breaks on-chain provenance, so publish the mapping.
- Add paymasters: write or use a paymaster contract, fund it, and add rules (per-user limits, allowlisted contracts) so it cannot be drained by bots.
- Audit: use auditors with ZKsync experience, since compiler and VM differences create bugs generic EVM reviews can miss.
Where it fits and where it does not
ZKsync Era suits NFT products that benefit from smart-account UX: games with session keys, consumer drops with sponsored gas, loyalty programs. NFT liquidity, though, is spread thinly across many Layer 2s, and collectors are concentrated on Ethereum mainnet, Base, Solana and a few others. If secondary trading volume is central to your business, check where your audience actually trades. The NFT Layer 2 development guide compares rollups, the Ethereum marketplace guide covers order protocols that also apply here, and the scaling and interoperability article explains how rollups fit together.
Effort
As a reasoned estimate, adding ZKsync Era to an existing EVM NFT platform is four to eight weeks for two or three engineers, mostly spent on deployment changes, signature handling, indexing and testing. A paymaster with sensible limits adds one to two weeks plus audit time.
Frequently asked questions
Is zkSync 2.0 the same as ZKsync Era?
Yes. zkSync 2.0 was the development name; it launched on mainnet as ZKsync Era.
Can I deploy my existing ERC-721 contract unchanged?
Standard OpenZeppelin ERC-721 contracts usually work after compiling with the ZKsync toolchain. Factories, CREATE2 logic, assembly and signature verification need review.
How do users get NFTs back to Ethereum?
Only through a bridge that supports that collection. Plan this before launch, or treat ZKsync Era as the collection's permanent home.