Deep Dive
1. Upbit Listing (06 January 2026)
Overview: Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, added ZK for spot trading against KRW, BTC, and USDT. This marks ZKsync’s entry into a high-volume Asian market with over 10 million users, typically improving liquidity and tightening spreads.
What this means: This is bullish for ZKsync because it provides a major fiat on-ramp for Korean investors, potentially increasing retail demand and stabilizing prices through deeper order books. (TradingView)
2. Grvt Launches Earn on Equity (08 January 2026)
Overview: Grvt, a ZKsync-based exchange, introduced "Earn on Equity," allowing traders to earn 10% APY on idle margin collateral. Yield comes from platform fee revenue, with future integration of ZKsync’s Atlas upgrade for decentralized yield sources.
What this means: This is bullish for ZKsync because it enhances capital efficiency on the network, incentivizing more trading activity and potentially increasing transaction volume and protocol revenue. (grvt.io)
3. Banks Urged to Adopt ZK Tech (08 January 2026)
Overview: Igor Mandrigin (CTO of Gateway.fm) argued in a Cointelegraph op-ed that banks must replace private blockchains with public permissioned L2s like ZKsync. He highlighted ZK-proofs for compliance and liquidity access, citing Visa and SWIFT experiments.
What this means: This is bullish for ZKsync because it signals growing institutional recognition, positioning ZK tech as critical for tokenized assets and cross-border settlements, potentially driving enterprise adoption. (Cointelegraph)
Conclusion
ZKsync is bridging retail accessibility, DeFi innovation, and institutional credibility, setting the stage for broader adoption. Will these developments catalyze sustained network growth in Q1 2026?