The native token of Layer2 scaling solution ZKsync, $ZK, has experienced an astonishing surge of over 143% in just two days, propelled by a powerful endorsement from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The token peaked at $0.073 on Sunday, marking a new six-month high.
“Atlas” Upgrade Ignites Initial Momentum
This remarkable rally commenced last Friday following a significant announcement from ZKsync founder Alex Gluchowski. He unveiled the launch of the “Atlas” major upgrade, emphasizing its potential to deliver “institutional-grade scalability, cross-chain interoperability, and near-instant transaction speeds.”
Gluchowski further elaborated that Atlas is designed to enable Layer2 protocols to more directly leverage the Ethereum mainnet for seamless liquidity integration and asset tokenization. This strategic move is poised to pave the way for attracting substantial institutional capital into the ZKsync ecosystem.
Vitalik Buterin’s Endorsement Unleashes “Vitalik Rally”
The technical advancements of the Atlas upgrade quickly captured the attention of Vitalik Buterin. In a highly impactful social media post, he praised ZKsync, stating:
“ZKsync has been doing a lot of underrated and valuable work in the ethereum ecosystem. Excited to see this come from them!”
ZKsync has been doing a lot of underrated and valuable work in the ethereum ecosystem. Excited to see this come from them! https://t.co/coZKCfsb8h
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 1, 2025
This concise yet potent statement instantly ignited a massive buying frenzy across the market. According to market data, at the time of Buterin’s post on Saturday afternoon, the $ZK token was trading at approximately $0.03. Within hours, its value surged by over 50%, rocketing to $0.055 by Sunday morning. The momentum continued unchecked, pushing the token to an impressive $0.073 by Sunday evening, a phenomenon quickly dubbed the “Vitalik Rally.”
Building for Institutions: The Prividium Advantage
The recent surge isn’t ZKsync’s first foray into attracting institutional interest. Just last month, the project unveiled “Prividium,” a groundbreaking product designed specifically for enterprise-grade adoption. Prividium is an Ethereum-based, private, permissioned Layer2 solution that masterfully blends the essential “privacy” demanded by institutions with the inherent “verifiability” of public blockchains.
According to its product specifications, Prividium boasts features like real-time cross-border settlement and atomic transaction execution. It delivers an impressive transaction throughput of up to 15,000 transactions per second (TPS) with a mere 1-second latency, addressing critical performance requirements for institutional use cases.
ZKsync confirmed that over 30 leading institutions, including financial giants like Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Mastercard, have already joined as “observers” to explore the robust capabilities of Prividium. This proactive engagement highlights ZKsync’s long-term strategy to bridge traditional finance with decentralized technology.
Market Impact and Future Trajectory
The combined effect of Vitalik Buterin’s strong endorsement and the transformative Atlas upgrade propelled ZKsync’s market capitalization to an impressive $600 million, marking its highest valuation since May of this year. Data from CoinMarketCap further illustrates the intensity of this event-driven rally, with ZKsync’s trading volume skyrocketing by an astounding 1,500% over the weekend.
Disclaimer: This article provides market information for reference only. All content and opinions are for informational purposes and do not constitute investment advice. They do not represent the views and positions of BlockBeats. Investors should make their own decisions and transactions. The author and BlockBeats will not bear any responsibility for direct or indirect losses resulting from investor transactions.
