ZetaChain proposes shutting down its L1, migrating ZETA token to Solana

ZetaChain, the project that once pitched itself as the connective tissue between blockchains, now wants to pull the plug on its own chain and move everything to Solana.

A governance proposal opened on September 17 asks ZETA token holders to approve winding down the Layer-1 blockchain entirely and converting ZETA into a native SPL token on Solana through a 1:1 swap. The vote runs for 72 hours, closing September 20, and the result will dictate how quickly the existing L1 gets shut down.

What the proposal actually entails

The migration plan preserves the existing token economics. Total supply stays capped at 2.1 billion tokens, vesting schedules remain unchanged, and no new tokens will be minted as part of the transition. Holders would simply convert their existing ZETA into the Solana-native version at a one-to-one ratio.

L1 validation responsibilities would transfer to Solana validators, effectively outsourcing the consensus layer to an established network rather than maintaining a separate validator set. ZETA tokens sitting on Ethereum and BNB Chain would remain unaffected during the transition period, with exchange confirmations required before any migration mechanics kick in.

The centerpiece application making the move is Anuma AI, which has accumulated over 300,000 users. ZETA would serve as the access token for the AI application on Solana, giving the token a concrete utility anchor in its new home.

The backstory: from cross-chain ambitions to retreat

ZetaChain originally positioned itself as an omnichain smart contract platform, promising to let developers build applications that could natively interact with multiple blockchains simultaneously.

Then came April 2026. An exploit hit the project, affecting team wallets but reportedly not compromising user funds. By June 30, 2026, ZetaChain had fully wound down its cross-chain deposit services and disabled the interoperability features that were supposed to be its reason for existing.

Market reaction and what traders are watching

The market’s initial read was positive. ZETA’s price climbed roughly 11% in the wake of the announcement, with trading volume surging about 40%.

Token migrations are notoriously messy, even when the mechanics are straightforward. Exchange support needs to be coordinated. Liquidity pools need to be rebuilt. Users holding ZETA across multiple chains need clear instructions and reasonable timelines, or some portion of the supply gets stranded or lost in the shuffle.

The governance vote itself deserves scrutiny. A 72-hour window to decide whether to shut down an entire blockchain is, to put it gently, brisk. Token governance votes often suffer from low participation, and decisions of this magnitude typically benefit from longer deliberation periods.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.