The ZK Token Has Crashed 17%

ZKSync ecosystem has again found itself in the midst of controversy, this time following a serious security breach that led to a sharp plunge in the price

The ZKSync ecosystem has fallen victim to a serious security breach, leading to a sharp decline in the price of its native token, ZK.

According to on-chain activity observed on April 15, an entity successfully minted 110 million ZK tokens earlier today. Of this staggering amount, the individual has already sold 66 million tokens, triggering massive volatility and panic across crypto exchanges.

Notably, the ZKSync security team quickly released a statement on X regarding the development. They acknowledged that an admin account suffered a compromise, granting the attacker access to nearly $5 million worth of unclaimed tokens from the project’s airdrop allocation.

zkSync security team has identified a compromised admin account that took control of ~$5M worth of ZK tokens—the remaining unclaimed tokens from the zkSync airdrop. Necessary security measures are being taken.

All user funds are safe and have never been at risk. The zkSync...

— zkSync (∎, ∆) (@zksync) April 15, 2025

The team highlighted that the exploit only impacted the airdrop contract and did not affect the broader ZKSync protocol, the ZK token smart contract, or user wallets. According to them, security teams have already initiated emergency protocols, and a complete investigation is underway to determine the full scope of the breach.

As the core infrastructure remains unaffected, the market reaction was swift. Within a 30-minute window, ZK token’s price plummeted from $0.0478 to $0.0396—a 17% drop that rattled holders and traders.

Although the asset showed signs of recovery, rebounding to $0.0441, the sentiment remains bearish. Additionally, the Relative Volatility Index (RVI), a metric for tracking price turbulence, surged from 18.68 to 72.81 within an hour.

This incident has sparked heated discussions among zkSync’s community members, many of whom have voiced their frustrations since the controversial airdrop.

Pseudonymous commentator Hanky Pym expressed his criticisms, comparing zkSync’s trajectory to that of Mantra’s OM token, which faced a 98% price collapse. Pym claimed the team misused its substantial funding of around $400 million and slammed them for what he perceives as deceitful behavior.

Another member of the community pointed out a contradiction in zkSync’s narrative. The user questioned the legitimacy of the hack, suggesting it might be part of a larger trend where projects exploit the “we were hacked” narrative to cover questionable actions.

Meanwhile, Zener, founder of the Web3 infrastructure project Modularity, also intervened, stating that zkSync had essentially severed its ties with the community. He further asserted that the project’s credibility has reached zero.

The once-promising @zksync has officially turned its back on the community—and with that, its relevance ends here. It’s time to return the $ZK ticker to its rightful owner, @PolyhedraZK. Let’s not forget the blatant insult delivered through their insider-driven airdrop.

— Zener (@zenerbabax) April 15, 2025

This incident adds another layer of complication to ZKSync’s journey, which has been subject to scrutiny since its controversial airdrop rollout in June 2024.

Designed to reward early adopters and ecosystem participants, the airdrop allocated 3.675 billion ZK tokens, 17.5% of the total 21 billion supply, to 695,232 wallet addresses. This selection represented only about 10% of all active wallets on the network.

However, the distribution process faced criticism for its uneven allocation. While eligible wallets received anywhere between 450 and 100,000 ZK tokens, more than half of the entire airdrop ended up in the hands of less than 1% of participants.

The situation was further exacerbated by vulnerabilities in Sybil attack prevention. Several users manipulated the eligibility system using multiple wallets, effectively gaming the airdrop. Notably, one individual reportedly secured over 3 million ZK tokens through 85 separate wallets.