[TPP-11] ZKsync Governance System Infrastructure Funding

[TPP-11] ZKsync Governance System Infrastructure Funding

| Title | ZKsync Governance System Infrastructure Funding | | --- | --- | | Proposal Type | TPP | | One Sentence Summary | The ZKsync Association requests funding ~$1.65M USD (33M ZK at $0.05/ZK) in services to maintain and evolve the governance infrastructure, critical for executing ZKsync’s protocol upgrades, token programs, and network coordination until December 31, 2026. | | Proposal Author | ZKsync Association | | Proposal Sponsor | Polar | | Date Created | 2025-10-15 | | Version | v1.0 | | Summary of Action | This proposal activates a capped minter with access to 33M ZK, approximately $1.65M USD, with a rate-limit of 8M ZK per month. The ZKsync Association will serve as the manager of these services and will facilitate disbursements via capped minters under approved scope. | | Link to proposal discussion | https://forum.zknation.io/t/tpp-draft-zksync-governance-system-infrastructure-funding/781 |

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Abstract

This proposal funds governance infrastructure that power protocol upgrades, token distribution, and coordination across the ZKsync ecosystem.

This Token Program Proposal (TPP) approves a ZK Capped Minter for ~33M ZK, approximately $1.65M USD calculated at $0.05/ZK, with a rate limit of up to 8M ZK per month, and an expiry date of December 31, 2026.

The ZKsync Association’s governance team will serve as the manager of these services and will facilitate disbursements via capped minters under approved scope. The token allocation request does not include any tokens for the ZKsync Association itself, salaries, or other operational overhead.

Motivation

The ZKsync Governance System launched on September 12th 2024, activating the governance smart-contracts, interfaces, and operations.

Governance systems underpin major coordination functions in the ZKsync ecosystem. These include executing protocol upgrades, activating new token programs, and responding to protocol emergencies. Ensuring these systems remain secure, adaptable, and easy to use is critical to delivering on ZKsync’s roadmap.

Since launch, the ZKsync Association’s Governance Team has played the role of facilitator, steward, and quality manager in design, launch, and maintenance of the system. The Governance Team works in close collaboration with the Security Council, Guardians, ZKsync Foundation and Token Assembly Delegates. This role closely aligns with multiple of the ZKsync Association’s purposes, as defined in their Articles of Association. For example:

2.2 Support the development of secure, transparent and censorship resistant digital infrastructures for the benefit of the society; 2.5 Promote the democratization and decentralization of blockchain technology and ensure that engagement in the development and governance of ZK protocols and similar technology is possible for all individuals, irrespective of their origin and financial resources;

Figure 1: The ZKsync Association supports and helps secure the ZKsync governance system

The work from today until the end of 2026 will maintain and responsively evolve the infrastructure activated at launch.

This proposal scope and token allocation assumes the ZKsync Association’s Governance Team serves as the program administrator of this TPP, responsible for execution of the scope and any required service provider selection and management. The Governance Team would use their resources and relationships to maintain and improve the security, capability, and accessibility of ZKsync governance. Tactical services scope will be defined by the Governance Team, along with the necessary service provider selection process.

Performance is measured via metrics tracking governance security, reliability, responsiveness, and participation. These include voting power, time to quorum, incidents, and protocol upgrades approved via standard upgrades.

The ZKsync Association will coordinate legal contracts between service providers and ZKGPS based on performance history, ecosystem alignment, and cost. A full service provider history is available for reference.

Program Mechanics

The ZKsync Association’s Governance Team will manage service providers responsible for core governance infrastructure and facilitate token allocations using capped minters. This includes:

• Publishing a roadmap for governance, aligned with protocol and ecosystem priorities.
• Managing RFPs for service delivery based on scope and urgency.
• Creating and administering capped minters for compensating participating service providers.

Governance Activities Overview

| Activity Category | Description | Scope of Activities | | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Governance Contracts for Protocol and Token Coordination | Maintain capped minter contracts, minter mods, governor contracts, related L1 contracts such as custom multisigs, the ZK token contract, and any other related smart-contract. | Governors and Timelocks Compatibility with Upgrade Handler ZK Token Contract Capped Minters and Minter Mods Emergency Board, Guardians, and Security Council Multisigs Token Mechanics Patterns Token Mechanics Deployments Other smart-contracts | | 2. Governance Interfaces and Participation Tooling | Maintain the Governance Portal, Governance Forum, Github Repo, ZK Nation Website, Documentation, communication channels, RSS governance feed, and other related interfaces. | Canonical Governance Portal Secondary Governance Portal Governance Forum Governance Analytics ZK Nation Website ZK Nation Blog ZK Nation Docs ZK Nation Brand Assets and Content GovFeed RSS GitHub Repository Other communication channels (Twitter, Telegram, etc.) | | 3. Security Infrastructure for Protocol and Token Safety | Continue security efforts related to monitoring, assessment frameworks, reviews, audits, and security rehearsals. Governance audits are available for review at the ZKsync Docs. | Governance Audits Capped Minter Audits Proposal Verification Tool Contract Monitoring Security Reviews Security Policies Governance Action Rehearsals Threat Modelling and Simulations Incident Response Management | | 4. Operational and Legal Infrastructure for Decentralized Execution | Maintain legal entities, regulatory requirements (e.g. MiCA whitepaper), and other related operations such as legal contract management for ZKGPS, ZKsync Guardians, and token programs. | Legal Counsel IP Management Security Council Operations ZKGPS Operations Integrations with custodians Global SteerCo, Proposal Contributors General Token Program Analytics Regulatory Alignment (e.g. MICAR) Other Token Program needs |

Funding Request Summary

The requested costs for the period of September 2025 to December 2026 are derived from direct experience preparing, launching, and maintaining governance infrastructure from 2024 through to the end of August 2025. Each category contributes to the system’s capacity to deploy secure, adaptive, and decentralized upgrades.

As noted in the table, operations were supported by donations and services from both Matter Labs and the ZKsync Foundation.

| Activity Category | Requested ZK @ $0.05 | USD Forecast September 2025 to December 2026 | USD Reference Resource Costs from Jan 2024-August 2025 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Governance Contracts for Protocol and Token Coordination | 7,100,000 | $355,000 | ~$1,050,000 | | 2. Governance Interfaces and Participation Tooling | 9,566,660 | $478,333 | ~$420,000 | | 3. Security Infrastructure for Protocol and Token Safety | 7,987,500 | $399,375 | ~$770,000 | | 4. Operational and Legal Infrastructure for Decentralized Execution | 8,250,000 | $412,500 | ~$710,000 | | Total | 33,000,000 ZK [Rounded 32,904,160 ZK] | $1,645,208 | ~$2,950,000 Bootstrapped via donations from Matter Labs and support from the ZKsync Foundation |

Funding Request Analysis Assumptions

• Reference Cost Estimate: References from 2024-2025 includes governance-related service provider invoices as well as a conservative estimate of engineering effort at industry rate.
• Forecast Cost Estimate: Includes linear projection of ongoing services requ

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https://tally.xyz/gov/zksync/proposal/8043865517871673466500920771587039178855876090726876272793935297016439640908