On November 4, 2025, Zksync founder Alex Gluchowski, who goes by @gluk64 on X, shared a lengthy post in which he proposed a major tokenomics redesign aimed at helping $ZK become more than just another governance token.
The proposal to pivot ZK from a utility-driven asset to one that captures real network value is also being pitched as a way to create sustainable decentralization by funding security, development, and growth through revenue loops.
Zksync wants to capture more value in token
The proposal shared by ZKsync founder Alex, titled “ZK Token Proposal Part I,” proposes a major update to the ZK token economic model that will see all revenue generated by the network used to buy back and burn ZK tokens, creating deflation.
Alex emphasized that the move aims to directly link the value of ZK tokens to network usage, pushing ZKsync to become a self-reinforcing and sustainable economic system.
He wrote that, in the future, ZK tokens will no longer be restricted to just governance purposes but will attempt to capture real-world value. Aside from token buybacks, the revenue generated will also be used to offer staking rewards and the development of the ecosystem.
At the time of this writing, the token is trading at $0.05201 with a trading volume that has surpassed $300M in the past 24 hours.
Analysts have started to price in the upside potential ahead of the pilot’s approval, although the token has a long way to go to recover from its post-airdrop price plunge (90% from highs).
The proposal also comes as there is currently growing demand for privacy-focused solutions, with tokens like Monero and Zcash rallying on investor interest and trading volume boosts. The recent rally of the ZK token that began this month highlights the market’s increasing awareness of zk-based technologies and their potential to drive scalability and confidentiality on-chain.
Alex’s Atlas update post got Vitalik Buterin’s nod
In Gluchowski’s “Ethereum is now the main capital hub of ZKsync” article, he talked about the ZKsync Atlas upgrade and how it will bring over 15,000 TPS, a 1-second zero-knowledge proof final confirmation time, and near-zero transaction fees.
Before Atlas, Alex pointed out that every L2 ecosystem was forced to build a central liquidity hub (like ZKsync Era, Base, or Arbitrum One) because it was the only way to operate.
Specialized hubs and app-chains will still be built, but Alex claims they will become value-added and specialized rather than mandatory general-purpose liquidity engines, thereby enhancing Ethereum’s liquidity instead of having to recreate it.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin retweeted the article while praising ZKsync for doing a lot of what he tagged “underrated but valuable work” in the Ethereum ecosystem, and expressing anticipation for its upcoming new features.
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