ZKsync Association

The ZKsync Association is a non-profit association established under Austrian law to enhance digital literacy and empower all members of society with the skills and knowledge to understand the blockchain and digital economy with focus on (i) cryptography, especially in the field of zero knowledge, and (ii) blockchain-based networks, systems, architectures, applications and products, particularly those involving zero-knowledge and/or artificial intelligence, and promote the development and dissemination of such knowledge. Through this mandate, the ZKsync Association supports, promotes, and helps develop ZKsync’s protocol token and its governance system.

The ZKsync Association is also the home to the ZKsync Governance Team. This team maintains infrastructure and resources for blockchain governance operations, oversees the system design and updates, educates the ZK-Community as well as the public on decentralized governance, blockchain technology (in particular in the realm of zero knowledge proofs), and ensures that processes aligns with ZKsync’s core principles.

A copy of the Articles of Association for the ZKsync Association can be found here: ZKsync Association AoA Bylaws (Jan 31 2025).

Means & Activites

The ZKsync Association achieves it's purpose through means outlined in the Articles of Association. The main areas of focus for the ZKsync Association include:

Compliance:

• Regulatory compliance: As the Issuer, the Association ensures that all activities involving the ZK token and other applicable tokens comply with the requirements of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).

Community Coordination

• Open governance portal: Operate a free of charge, publicly available governance portal for ZKsync (a ZK-based Layer 2 blockchain), proposal forums, communication channels, on-chain voting resources, and governance updates.

• Transparent governance coordination: Promote transparent, open, and accessible communication and coordination among decentralized governance bodies, particularly within the ZKsync ecosystem, to ensure transparent decision-making for all members of society.

• Community engagement & education: Organize and sponsor a range of events (e.g. meetups, hackathons, roundtables, etc.) and maintain online communication channels to facilitate the exchange of ideas between interested participants and the general public and to enhance digital literacy and broader adoption of blockchain and ZK technologies in general across all skill levels.

Resources & Adoption

• Public resources: Develop and disseminate knowledge, tools, and resources for blockchain technology, ZK protocols and decentralized governance - particularly on the ZKsync protocol - by establishing and maintaining a freely accessible library of research, educational materials, and open-source software for public access.

• Adoption of ZK ecosystems: Promote the widespread adoption and use of zero-knowledge proof and blockchain technology, as well as ZKsync and other ZK-enabled blockchains by the global ZK Community, including developers, researchers, educators, creators, and users.

Past Work

The ZKsync Association supported the ecosystem through a range of initiatives, including several key focus areas outlined below. Additional details on the Association’s work can be found in the annual operations reports.

• Launched the ZK Token and ZKsync Governance System (including interfaces, documentation and other resources)

• Supported live governance operations, including standard protocol upgrades, emergency actions, and complex token programs

• Published ZK Token MiCAR White Paper

• Assisted due diligence and information requests related to ZK Token listings

• Hosted, attended and spoke at various public events and conferences throughout the year, including Delegate meetups, curating governance-focused Community Hubs at Devcon & Devconnect, and hosting governance operator workshops.

Donations

The ZKsync Association operates as a non-profit and it relies on donations in order to pursue its purpose. If you would like to support the ZKsync Association, please reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Association Membership

Please refer to the ZKsync Association Membership page to learn more about membership.