ZK Technology's Price Rally: An In-Depth Analysis of On-Chain Usage and Protocol Enhancements

The rapid advancement of ZK-based solutions, especially , has drawn significant interest from both investors and developers. In November 2025, the ecosystem saw a remarkable price increase, fueled by a combination of infrastructure enhancements, growing institutional participation, and strong on-chain performance. This report delves into the technical and economic drivers behind this momentum, providing a data-backed perspective on its medium-term investment prospects.

Protocol Upgrades: Laying the Groundwork for Scalability and Regulatory Alignment

The protocol improvements made by ZKsync in Q3 2025, notably the deployment of OS v0.0.5, represented a significant leap forward. This version brought in correctness validations, addressed technical liabilities, and reduced block times to below one second with 200 ms intervals,

. The migration of ZKsync's mainnet, Era, to the ZKsync Gateway further enhanced compliance for institutions by supporting Merkle-proof-based cross-chain message verification. These upgrades echo Vitalik Buterin’s endorsement of ZK as a key to solving Ethereum’s scalability and privacy issues, , which reached 15,000 transactions per second (TPS).

On-Chain Adoption: Growth in Transactions and Institutional Interest

The Q3 2025 enhancements sparked a notable rise in on-chain usage. By November 2025, ZK rollups were handling up to 15,000 TPS,

. ZKsync’s Total Value Locked (TVL) climbed to $3.3 billion, . The number of active addresses surged, largely due to enterprise integration: platforms such as SignalPlus (adopted by Goldman Sachs and Galaxy) used ZKsync for secure derivatives trading, and Perps trading volume on ZK derivatives platforms reached $2.98 billion, .

Developer Activity: Accelerated Ecosystem Expansion

Developer participation in the ZKsync ecosystem surged in late 2025. The solx Compiler entered beta, allowing contracts to comply with Ethereum’s 24 kB size limit and passing validation for 24 production projects. The zksync-era GitHub repository experienced rapid growth in contributors,

thanks to the maturation of zkEVM tools. The ZKsync Community Hub further propelled this growth with initiatives such as the ZKmentor Program, .

Institutional Adoption: Bridging Compliance and Practical Use

Institutional uptake became a cornerstone of ZK’s expansion. The reversal of Tornado Cash sanctions in late 2025 eliminated regulatory ambiguity, while ZKsync’s selective disclosure features (via Prividium) enabled confidential international payments and intraday repo transactions in a pilot with over 35 financial institutions.

to achieve more efficient settlements, underscoring the technology’s practical value.

Obstacles and Future Prospects

Despite these advances, ZKsync encountered some short-term challenges.

, but a staking pilot was introduced to help offset this by boosting token demand and promoting decentralization. Looking ahead, the platform’s compatibility with EVM and support for C++ and Rust via an LLVM-based compiler .

Conclusion: A Strong Case for Investment

The price rally of ZK technology in November 2025 is grounded in real advancements in scalability, compliance, and institutional integration, rather than mere speculation. With transaction throughput surpassing 15,000 TPS, TVL reaching $3.3 billion, and a 230% jump in developer activity, the ecosystem has proven its ability to sustain growth. For investors, the convergence of protocol improvements, robust on-chain data, and institutional demand provides a solid basis for medium-term value creation.