Aave DAO approves V3 on zkSync Era in 3rd ZK-rollup expansion

Aave DAO approved the deployment of Aave V3 lending pools on zkSync Era, bringing one of DeFi's largest lending protocols to a zero-knowledge rollup network for the first time.

The governance vote, recorded on the Aave governance portal, authorizes the technical integration of Aave V3 with zkSync Era's ZK-rollup infrastructure. zkSync Era processes transactions off-chain and submits validity proofs to Ethereum, offering lower fees and higher throughput while inheriting Ethereum's security model.

Aave V3 is the latest iteration of the protocol, offering features including isolated risk pools, supply caps, and eMode for correlated assets. The deployment gives zkSync Era users access to lending and borrowing markets that currently hold more than $6 billion in total value locked across all networks, according to DefiLlama data.

The move extends Aave's multi-chain strategy into ZK-rollup territory, following deployments on Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon. For zkSync Era, landing a blue-chip DeFi protocol adds a liquidity anchor that competing L2s have used to attract users and capital. The next milestone is the technical integration and mainnet launch, with the DAO retaining control over risk parameters through its governance process.

The approval signals that major DeFi protocols continue expanding across scaling networks even as the broader market remains selective about where liquidity flows. Aave's governance process — where token holders vote on deployment proposals — gives the protocol a decentralized mechanism to allocate capital to new chains based on community consensus rather than centralized decision-making.

For zkSync Era, the addition of Aave V3 strengthens its position among Ethereum L2s competing for DeFi liquidity. The network, built by Matter Labs, has focused on scaling Ethereum through zero-knowledge proofs, a technology that several major financial institutions have cited as a priority for institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure. Whether the deployment translates into sustained user activity will depend on the depth of liquidity pools and the risk parameters set by the Aave DAO after launch.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.