TL;DR:
Projected shutdown date: The governance vote concludes on November 7, 2026, and proposes permanently shutting down the Layer 1 network on December 9 at block height 20,755,000.
Conversion and claims: Native ZETA tokens will be converted into SPL assets on Solana at a 1:1 ratio, requiring a minimum threshold of 10 ZETA for individual portal claims.
Supply reduction: The plan includes the staggered burn of approximately 55 million unissued validator ZETA over 12 months throughout 2027.
With the aim of migrating its native asset to the Solana network, ZetaChain proposed permanently halting the operations of its Layer 1 blockchain on December 9.
The process stems from the so-called Governance Proposal 2 , which opened a 72-hour community voting period scheduled to close on November 7 at 16:12 UTC. According to technical documentation published by the organization, the operational rollout of this shutdown will only take effect if the initiative secures majority backing from participants. In September 2026, a preliminary consultation recorded 99.4% support in favor of the transition to Solana, leaving the execution parameters subject to this second vote.
According to the official timeline, the halt of block production will occur at block 20,755,000. At that point , a snapshot will be taken that will include liquid balances, tokens undergoing delegation (staking), and accrued rewards pending collection.
From these records, the ZetaChain Foundation will issue equivalent tokens under Solana’s SPL standard at a 1:1 ratio. The technical team clarified that the asset will retain the ZETA ticker and nine decimals, while minting authority will be revoked immediately after minting the volume set in the snapshot. Ethereum -based ZETA tokens under the ERC-20 format will not undergo contractual changes.
Token Supply Adjustments and Holder Requirements
The transition design includes deflationary measures for the project’s economic structure. According to data in the governance document, the elimination of approximately 55 million ZETA corresponding to unissued validation incentives was scheduled. This burn will be executed through twelve monthly transactions throughout 2027, removing an average of 4.6 million units in each batch.
With the shutdown of its dedicated validator network, the protocol’s scheduled inflation rate will be nullified. Furthermore, the managing foundation made a documented commitment not to sell allocations under its custody that unlock balances during the 2027 calendar year, while the vesting schedule for initial buyers will conclude on January 1, 2027.
Users holding native balances will be able to manage their fee-free transfer through the ZetaHub portal starting December 9 . The documentation warns that addresses holding fewer than 10 ZETA at the snapshot will not be able to process individual claims via the web interface.
Balances held in centralized exchange platforms will depend on the specific agreements each operator establishes with the project. Regarding funds placed in liquidity contracts or wrapped derivatives, the team instructed users to withdraw assets prior to the designated block, as automated tools will not be able to recover balances in external smart contracts. For multi-chain ZRC-20 assets, a claim mechanism will be enabled on their native chains with a baseline value of $5 per asset.
Cybersecurity firm Hacken is auditing the portal and technical support programs. The organization communicated that user access will open only after this code audit is completed.
The infrastructure overhaul coincides with the launch of ZetaLabs , also scheduled for December 9. According to statements by developers, maintaining a dedicated Layer 1 required intensive resources in security and validator coordination. Following this transition, the entity will focus its operations on artificial intelligence tools and financial market analytics powered by Solana’s technology base.
The operational commitment presented to the community stipulates that ZetaChain will maintain an archive node running until October 31, 2027, allowing transactional history of its chain to be queried after the shutdown. If the vote expiring on November 7 is rejected, the team will need to structure a new technical implementation plan before proceeding with the shutdown.
