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anchored·51jTRB…bgEeSummary
ZKsync is an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling protocol built on zero-knowledge rollup technology, developed by Matter Labs, which has raised approximately $458 million in venture capital. The protocol has faced multiple significant controversies including a $5 million airdrop contract exploit in April 2025, a contentious 2024 token airdrop marred by sybil attack failures and community backlash, a South Korean regulatory probe into alleged price manipulation, compromised social media accounts spreading false SEC investigation claims, and an intellectual property theft lawsuit filed against Matter Labs by defunct firm BANKEX. User funds in the core protocol have not been directly compromised, but the pattern of incidents has substantially eroded community trust.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 1 more
Timeline(11 events)
2018
Matter Labs founded by Alex Gluchowski and co-founders.
16 November 2022
Matter Labs closes $200 million Series C funding round co-led by Blockchain Capital and Dragonfly, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. Total funding reaches approximately $458 million.
11 June 2024
Matter Labs announces the ZK token airdrop, allocating 17.5% of 21 billion total supply to community wallets.
17 June 2024
ZK token airdrop goes live to 695,232 eligible wallets. Token peaks at $0.3285. Within 24 hours, 41% of top recipients sell their full allocation, causing a 34.5% price drop. #ZKsyncScam trends on social media. Active addresses subsequently fall ~78.7% over the following month.
February 2025
ZK token surges 970% on South Korean exchange Upbit during a scheduled maintenance window, then collapses back to pre-surge levels. Approximately 15 wallets allegedly profit $18.7 million. South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service opens a market surveillance review.
19 March 2025
BANKEX files intellectual property theft lawsuit against Matter Labs in New York State Supreme Court, alleging co-founders stole BANKEX technology to build ZKsync.
15 April 2025
Compromised admin private key used to call sweepUnclaimed() on three ZKsync airdrop contracts, minting 111 million ZK tokens (~$5 million). ZK price falls 15-20%. ZKsync states user funds in the core protocol are not at risk.
21 April 2025
ZKsync issues on-chain safe harbor offer to the April 15 attacker: return 90% of funds within 72 hours and retain 10% as a bounty, or face criminal referral.
23 April 2025
Attacker accepts the safe harbor offer, returning over 44.6 million ZK tokens and approximately 1,800 ETH. ZKsync declares the case resolved. Recovered funds placed under Security Council custody.
22 April 2025
CoinDesk reports on the BANKEX lawsuit against Matter Labs filed March 19, bringing broader industry attention to the IP allegations.
13 May 2025
Official X accounts of ZKsync and Matter Labs are compromised. Hackers post false SEC investigation and Treasury sanctions warnings, followed by phishing airdrop links. ZK token falls ~2%. Accounts later secured; Matter Labs attributes breach to compromised delegated accounts.
Decision Log
- hash: 6cctRe9ibG5tShxdXHkm3Qy69RKmat7QyRGnvdsz15HC
- hash: Gn9trVgWC1CTCYHJa68FkuLaBo7fr4fAv1uUB3DDEFn7
- hash: 5b8MzZxnAt5TToYGymN1but2ZN8cJoi9TG4jS9mETG4v
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (3 events). 22 of 28 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:24 AM
last updated: 8/30/2026, 3:54:59 AM
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