Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has criticized Ethereum’s layer-2 network ZKsync for still operating as a multisig system despite claims of community-led governance.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Yakovenko argued that the same “honest majority” assumptions apply to ZKsync because legal or technical control of its system could easily fall under the jurisdiction of a court, thereby compromising its decentralization.
According to him:
“A sufficient number of token holders to create a quorum and a sufficient number of “professional security council” members could be within reach of a random US bankruptcy judge who could order each of them to take all related assets under the control of a bankruptcy trust.”
His comments were in response to Alex Gluchowski, co-founder and CEO of Matter Labs, the team behind ZKsync. Gluchowski had said that the network’s new decentralized governance system was not a multisig setup and was “a crucial step toward Stage 2.”
Stage 2 is the transition from partial to full decentralization. At this stage, trust is placed entirely in the blockchain code and algorithms, ensuring that the system is open, secure, and resistant to manipulation.
It should be noted that no Layer 2 Ethereum network is fully at stage 2 of its decentralization development.
Decentralized governance
On September 12, Gluchowski announced that the ZKsync governance system was live.
The system introduces a three-body structure, which includes the ZK Token Assembly, a group of token holders who delegate their voting power to delegates. These delegates can submit and vote on protocol, token, and governance upgrade proposals.
According to the team:
“This is perhaps the most important facet of the system: token holders and their delegates can initiate ordinary upgrades to the ZKsync protocol directly on-chain, instead of relying on a single multisig.”
At the same time, delegates will also benefit from legal protection through the ZKsync Association, an ownerless non-profit association that addresses personal liability issues.
The second part of the governance structure is the ZKsync Security Council, which consists of engineers, auditors, and security professionals. The Council has the power to actively review and approve protocol upgrades, freeze the protocol, and submit urgently needed upgrades.
However, their power is limited because they cannot submit and approve upgrades unilaterally.
Finally, ZKsync Guardians ensure that governance proposals are consistent with the principles of the ZK Creed. They have veto power and serve as a check on other governance bodies.
The three governance entities (the Token Assembly, Security Council, and Guardians) work together to review and execute proposals, such as ZKsync improvements, token programs, and governance council changes. The Token Assembly can submit proposals, which the Guardians can veto if necessary, and the Security Council must approve protocol upgrades.
Essentially, this structure prevents individuals or groups from having unilateral control over proposals and upgrades.
