Beyond scalability narratives: Ethereum ZK Rollup projects to watch in 2026, who can lead the next cycle?

“Ethereum’s demand has shifted from simply increasing transaction speed to building a truly composable Layer 2 ecosystem.” This statement by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin aptly describes the current development direction of ZK Rollup technology. According to industry statistics, ZK technology is no longer a fringe concept; with project market capitalization exceeding $11.7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $3.5 billion, it marks the full emergence of ZK technology in the Web3 space.

Technological Evolution: From Scaling Tool to Ecosystem Foundation

ZK Rollup is no longer just a temporary solution for Ethereum scalability issues. Its core value lies in leveraging zero-knowledge proof technology to process a large number of transactions off-chain, then submitting proofs to the Ethereum mainnet for verification. The maturity of this technology enables Layer 2 networks to achieve low-cost, high-throughput transaction processing without compromising Ethereum’s security.

Early ZK Rollups faced a dilemma: either wait 2-7 days for withdrawal to ensure full Ethereum security or enable instant withdrawals at the cost of taking on proof responsibility themselves. This limitation led to the popularity of suboptimal solutions like multi-signature cross-chain bridges, but also weakened the composability of the Ethereum ecosystem. As ZK-EVM technology advances, this dilemma is gradually being resolved. Ethereum is fully embracing ZK technology roadmaps at Layer 1, with the timeline for native Rollup precompile features aligning with actual deployment.

The Rise of Native Rollup: Technical Foundations of Vitalik’s Changing Stance

Vitalik Buterin recently publicly expressed “greater support for native Rollup,” which is no coincidence. This shift reflects the maturation of key technologies like ZK-EVM. The core advantage of native Rollup is achieving “synchronous composability,” allowing L2 assets and applications to interact directly without relying on cross-chain bridges.

This architectural approach not only maintains Ethereum’s security guarantees but also enables efficient verification. Developers building “EVM + extension features” Rollups can directly reuse the native Rollup precompiles of EVM, only introducing dedicated verifiers for new features. This modular design significantly lowers development barriers and provides clearer technical standards for Ethereum’s L2 ecosystem.

Analysis of Mainstream ZK Rollup Projects

Currently, the ZK Rollup market exhibits diverse development paths, each focusing on different technical approaches and application scenarios.

Below are some key projects’ technical features and use cases:

From these projects, it’s evident that ZK Rollup technology is evolving towards specialization and scenario-specific applications, moving beyond simple transaction scaling into privacy, cross-chain interoperability, and compliant finance.

Ecosystem Applications: Beyond Scalability to Multi-Dimensional Value

ZK Rollup technology is fostering a diversified ecosystem of applications. In decentralized finance, perpetual contract DEXs built on ZK Rollup are becoming major contributors to trading volume. For example, EdgeX built with StarkEx has reached $91.005 billion in 30-day perpetual contract trading volume; ZKsync Validium’s GRVT has also achieved $35.683 billion.

The Bitcoin ecosystem is also integrating ZK Rollup solutions. GOAT Network is promoting Bitcoin expansion through its Ziren zkVM, turning “sleeping BTC into sustainable yield assets.” This development complements the rise of Bitcoin ETFs and further unlocks Bitcoin’s liquidity potential.

In traditional financial asset on-chainization, ZK Rollup’s features align closely with compliance requirements. The global RWA (Real World Asset) on-chain market cap has surpassed $25 billion, with an annual growth of over 240 times.

Taiko’s pre-confirmation mechanism is particularly suitable for financial institutions’ needs for predictable transactions, low latency, and regulatory traceability, providing a key underlying capability for traditional asset on-chain migration.

Future Outlook: Transaction Guidelines Based on ZK Rollup

As the ZK Rollup ecosystem matures, Ethereum’s Layer 2 landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation. ZK technology is evolving from a mere scaling tool to a foundational infrastructure for building decentralized, privacy-preserving, and user-empowered Web3 experiences.

At the user level, the low transaction costs and rapid confirmations provided by ZK Rollup are improving overall user experience. For developers, standardized precompile designs and modular architectures lower development barriers, enabling faster deployment of innovative applications. The composability of the Ethereum ecosystem is being fundamentally enhanced, making asset flow and application interaction across different Layer 2 networks more efficient.

On the Gate platform, users can explore various digital assets related to the ZK Rollup ecosystem. Ethereum, as the security backbone of these Layer 2 solutions,’s market performance directly reflects the health of the entire ecosystem. According to Gate market data, as of January 28, 2026, Ethereum’s price is $3,012.56, with a +0.93% change in the past 24 hours, -6.18% over the past 7 days, -0.3% over 30 days, and a market cap of $353.69 billion.

Ethereum Name Service has decided to build Namechain based on Taiko Stack, with the testnet expected to launch in Q2 2026. This decision is not accidental; it indicates that mainstream protocols are beginning to recognize the unique value of native Rollup in building a composable ecosystem. When Ethereum co-founders publicly shift their stance to support native Rollup, the industry hears the signal of a technological paradigm shift. Developers no longer need to make difficult trade-offs between security and efficiency as in the past. The new generation of ZK-EVMs is creating the possibility of achieving both. The boundary between Ethereum mainnet and Layer 2 is becoming blurred, and ZK Rollup represents not just a scaling solution but a new philosophy for building the Ethereum ecosystem.