ZKsync sunsets liquidity program ‘Ignite’

• ZKsync has cancelled the second season of its incentive program, Ignite.
• Bearish market conditions among other reasons led to the move.
• ZKSync will distribute all remaining rewards as of March 17, 2025.

ZKsync announced on Friday that it had cancelled the second season of its liquidity program, Ignite.

The zero-knowledge-powered layer 2 protocol revealed that the move comes amid the current bearish market conditions, which have notably annihilated sentiment and seen prices plummet.

Per ZKsync, the decentralised finance incentive program will halt on March 17, 2025.

“After careful consideration, the DeFi Steering Committee (DSC) has decided to not renew Ignite for Season 2 and will be sunsetting the program starting March 17th, 2025 by turning off rewards for period 6,” the ZKSync team noted via a thread on X.

The DeFi Steering Committee (DSC) cited multiple reasons for sunsetting Ignite. It includes the cryptocurrency market’s bearish conditions. This has prompted ZKsync to adopt a more conservative spending approach in the short to medium term, the platform noted.

Why halt Ignite?

Taking a cautious approach aims to ensure the sustainability of the ZKsync and Elastic Network ecosystem. It’s a move that will see protocol avoid unnecessary expenditure against prevailing headwinds.

ZKSync added in the update on X:

“Unfortunately we’re navigating a bearish market right now. In line with many other ecosystems, ZKsync has decided to be more conservative with spend in the short to medium term in response to these evolving conditions. To stay sustainable, we’re tightening our focus and spending smarter, rather than fighting headwinds.”

Focus on Elastic Network

Additionally, ZKsync is redirecting resources toward its long-term vision: the Elastic Network, an expanding verifiable blockchain network powered by zero-knowledge proofs. The team believes that continuing to invest heavily in the single-chain Ignite program no longer aligns with this goal, especially as native interoperability across the Elastic Network—crucial for seamless cross-chain interactions—faces delays.

The Ignite program, launched to boost liquidity on ZKsync Era and position it as a DeFi hub, has served its purpose but is now deemed less critical given these technological and market realities.

ZKSync will distribute all remaining rewards by March 17, 2025, with service provider contracts concluding by March 30, 2025.

The ZKSync token traded slightly higher despite the news, with ZK hovering near $0.06982 at the time of writing on March 14. The altcoin’s price was up nearly 5% in 24 hours. However, after a recent sell-off, it remained 16% down in the past week.