The ZK token of the ZKsync project increased by 6.2% following public praise from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The comments were made on October 15, 2026, two days after the launch of the project's new Ethereum prover, Airbender Prime.
Airbender Prime is designed for real-time Ethereum proving without requiring specialized hardware. During testing, the system processed 99% of 7,200 consecutive Ethereum mainnet blocks in under 10 seconds each, with every block proven in under 12 seconds.
The prover utilizes hash-based STARKs to ensure post-quantum security and supports multi-GPU configurations. ZKsync currently leads the ETHproofs.org leaderboard regarding average proving time, GPU efficiency, and operational costs.
Vitalik Buterin stated that the speed race for zkEVMs is finished. He suggested that the industry should now prioritize security, specifically calling for formal verification to align provers with Ethereum specifications and for setting limits on prover costs.
