Key Takeaways
Zerion's gasless Ethereum Layer 2 solution, Zero Network, is ceasing operations after approximately 18 months, with users given a final deadline of July 31, 2026, to withdraw all assets. The shutdown marks a strategic pivot for the company as it refocuses on its primary wallet and data API services.
"The vision we set out to build hasn’t changed. How we deliver it is evolving," the Zero Network team said in a statement on X. "The team, the talent, and everything we learned from ZERϴ is being channeled into building the best wallet and data API experience in crypto, across every chain."
Launched in November 2024, Zero Network was an EVM-compatible rollup built using the ZK Stack that offered users completely gasless transactions. While deposits and bridging into the network have been disabled, users can still bridge assets out to the Ethereum mainnet or other chains through the Zerion Wallet. The company confirmed all user funds remain secure and accessible during the wind-down period.
The closure highlights the intense competition and financial pressures within the Ethereum scaling landscape. Maintaining an independent blockchain proved too resource-intensive for Zerion, which will now allocate those resources to its core products. The move is indicative of a larger consolidation trend in 2026 that has also seen the recent shutdowns of cross-chain protocol Everclear and rollup infrastructure provider Syndicate Labs.
Zero Network’s closure underscores the challenges smaller Layer 2 projects face when competing against established giants like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. These larger networks have captured significant market share, developer interest, and total value locked (TVL), making it difficult for newer or more niche solutions to gain a sustainable foothold.
Industry analysts view these shutdowns not as a sign of failure for the sector, but as a natural market maturation. As the space evolves, projects are forced to prove their unique value proposition and find sustainable revenue models. For Zerion, this means concentrating on its user-facing applications rather than maintaining separate blockchain infrastructure. The insights gained from the Zero Network experiment, particularly around gas abstraction, will be integrated into its broader product suite.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
