Latest ZKsync (ZK) Price Analysis

By CMC AI
31 January 2026 01:53AM (UTC+0)

Why is ZK’s price down today? (31/01/2026)

TLDR

ZKsync (ZK) fell 1.4% over the past 24h, extending a 16% monthly decline. Here’s why:

  1. Technical Weakness – Oversold RSI and MACD divergence signal bearish momentum.

  2. Legacy Network Sunset – Planned ZKsync Lite shutdown in 2026 fuels uncertainty.

  3. Market Sentiment – Crypto-wide fear (index 26) and Bitcoin dominance (59%) pressure alts.


Deep Dive

1. Technical Bear Trap (Bearish Impact)

Overview: ZK trades at $0.0244, below all key moving averages (30-day SMA: $0.0317). The RSI-7 at 18.88 shows extreme oversold conditions, but MACD (-0.0018) and Fibonacci retracement (support at $0.0238) suggest no immediate reversal.

What this means: Oversold readings typically hint at exhaustion, but weak volume (-27.76% 24h) and no bullish divergence in RSI-14 (30.6) suggest traders see limited upside. The 200-day EMA ($0.046) looms as a distant resistance.

Key watch: A close below $0.0238 (swing low) could trigger another 15–20% drop.


2. ZKsync Lite Deprecation Plans (Mixed Impact)

Overview: ZKsync announced the 2026 retirement of its legacy Lite network (CoinMarketCap), shifting focus to ZKsync Era.

What this means: While logical for long-term development, the news highlights $50M in assets still bridged to Lite. Short-term holders may interpret this as reduced utility for ZK tokens, despite no direct impact on Era.

Key watch: Migration guide details (early 2026) and user adoption of Era’s Atlas upgrade (15k TPS, cross-chain features).


3. Macro Crypto Fear Dominates (Bearish Impact)

Overview: The crypto Fear & Greed Index sits at 26 (Extreme Fear), with Bitcoin dominance at 59% – capital rotates away from riskier alts like ZK.

What this means: ZK’s 90-day correlation with BTC is 0.87. Bitcoin’s -5.15% monthly drop drags smaller caps lower, compounded by ZK’s low turnover ratio (0.0839), making it vulnerable to liquidity crunches.


Conclusion

ZKsync’s decline reflects technical exhaustion, transitional uncertainty from Lite’s sunset, and crypto-wide risk aversion. While its ZK tech remains central to Ethereum’s scaling roadmap (per Vitalik Buterin’s recent endorsements), short-term sentiment overshadows fundamentals.

Key watch: Can ZK hold $0.0238 support, and will Atlas upgrade adoption counterbalance Lite’s phase-out? Monitor Ethereum’s ZK ecosystem developments for directional cues.

Why is ZK’s price up today? (28/01/2026)

TLDR

ZKsync's price is essentially flat, down 0.14% over the last 24 hours. This minor move contrasts with a broader downtrend of -8.52% over the past week. The price is being influenced by a mix of supportive ecosystem developments and persistent technical weakness.

Here are the main factors:

  1. Ethereum & ZK Narrative Support – Recent endorsements from Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Foundation funding highlight ZK technology's strategic value, providing fundamental support.

  2. Technical Downtrend Persists – Price remains below key moving averages with bearish momentum indicators, reflecting ongoing selling pressure and lack of bullish conviction.

  3. Mixed Institutional Signals – Growing TradFi interest (like UBS testing) is a long-term positive, but low on-chain activity and TVL show adoption hasn't yet translated to price strength.

Deep Dive

1. Ethereum & ZK Narrative Support (Bullish Impact)

Overview: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently reversed his long-held stance, now endorsing zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-SNARKs) as crucial for blockchain security and scalability, specifically citing ZKsync's roadmap (Vitalik Buterin). Concurrently, the Ethereum Foundation allocated $7.38 million in Q4 2025 funding, with a portion targeting ZK technology development.

What this means: Buterin's public support validates ZKsync's core technology, boosting developer and investor confidence in its long-term role within Ethereum's scaling vision. The substantial grant signals continued institutional investment in the ZK ecosystem, which can foster innovation and attract more projects to build on ZKsync. This creates a positive fundamental backdrop that can cushion against deeper sell-offs.

What to look out for: Increased developer activity and new project announcements on the ZK Stack following this renewed focus.

2. Technical Downtrend Persists (Bearish Impact)

Overview: ZK's price of $0.0272 sits well below its 30-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $0.03207 and 200-day SMA of $0.04645. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram is negative at -0.00063372, and the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 38.68.

What this means: Trading below key moving averages confirms the dominant bearish trend. The negative MACD histogram indicates selling momentum is still in force, while an RSI below 40 shows the asset is approaching oversold territory but hasn't reached levels that typically trigger a strong reversal. This technical picture suggests any short-term stability is fragile and occurs within a broader context of weakness.

What to look out for: A sustained break above the 30-day SMA near $0.032 to signal a potential trend change.

3. Mixed Institutional Signals (Neutral Impact)

Overview: Major wealth manager UBS is preparing to offer crypto investing, having previously tested fractional gold investment on ZKsync Validium (UBS). However, on-chain metrics remain subdued, with ZKsync Era's DeFi TVL at $36.4 million and daily user operations around 22,000.

What this means: Exploration by giants like UBS is a strong vote of confidence for ZKsync's enterprise-grade privacy features (Prividium) and its potential in tokenizing real-world assets. This builds a compelling long-term adoption thesis. Yet, the currently low TVL and user activity indicate this institutional narrative hasn't yet driven significant network usage or capital inflows, limiting its immediate price impact.

Conclusion

ZKsync's price is stable but weak, caught between high-level validation of its technology and the current reality of low network usage and bearish market structure. For holders, this implies patience is required as the project executes its 2026 roadmap focused on privacy and enterprise integration.

Key watch: Monitor for an increase in Total Value Locked (TVL) and daily active addresses as the first signs of the institutional narrative translating into tangible on-chain growth.

CMC AI can make mistakes. Not financial advice.