Vitalik Buterin Praises zkSync’s “Atlas” Upgrade for Improving Ethereum Transaction Speed & Cost

Market Context

Layer-2 scaling remains central to Ethereum’s evolution as transaction volume and dApp adoption increase. Upgrades such as zkSync’s Atlas respond to pressure from developers, enterprises, and users for lower latency, lower cost, and more predictable performance compared to congested Layer-1 networks. As adoption grows globally, improvements in throughput and finality can help reduce friction for builders, financial institutions, and end-users.

Technical Details with Attribution

• The Atlas upgrade was introduced by zkSync (Matter Labs) to enhance its ZK-Stack infrastructure.
• Key features include a new sequencer supporting up to 25,000-30,000 transactions per second (TPS) and integration of “Airbender,” a proof system enabling one-second zero-knowledge finality. 
• Transaction proving cost has been reduced substantially (≈ $0.0001 per transfer in some use-cases), making on-chain operations even more efficient. 
• zkSync’s upgrade preserves Ethereum compatibility (EVM-style) while enabling developers or enterprises to launch chains with high throughput and fast settlement. 

Analyst Perspectives 

Some observers read Vitalik Buterin’s support as an important signal that zkSync’s technical roadmap is aligned with broader Ethereum-scaling aspirations — particularly for institutional or enterprise use.

Still, others note that upgrades like Atlas must be tested under real-world scale: network load, governance, uptime, and developer adoption will determine whether it can reliably replace slower settlement models in production settings. Early lab metrics are promising, but full adoption remains ahead.

Global Impact Note

If zkSync’s Atlas performs as promised (high throughput, fast finality, low cost), it may influence how other ecosystems—beyond Ethereum native apps—design payment systems, tokenization (e.g. real-world assets), and cross-chain settlement. Regions with growing DeFi or fintech adoption may select ZK-Stack-based L2 chains as infrastructure backbone rather than building from scratch.