Blockchain platform Zilliqa has announced plans to permanently retire its legacy non-Ethereum Virtual Machine, or non-EVM, environment following a security incident involving Ledger-related infrastructure. The network said it would complete its ongoing transition to Zilliqa EVM, which will become the platform’s only production environment.
The decision forms part of a nine-step recovery and modernization strategy designed to provide a unified migration path for users, strengthen network security and support the long-term development of the Zilliqa ecosystem.
Zilliqa will complete its transition to Zilliqa EVM, retire the legacy non-EVM environment and offer every legacy wallet holder access to an official migration process, regardless of whether the wallet was affected by the incident.
The network indicated that extending the migration to all legacy wallet holders would eliminate uncertainty over which accounts were impacted and establish a common security foundation across the ecosystem. The transition had already been underway before the incident, but the security event accelerated the decision to fully discontinue the older environment.
Migration Will Extend Beyond Individual Wallets
Zilliqa said the transition would cover more than wallet balances. The network plans to work with cryptocurrency exchanges, wallet providers, custodians and infrastructure partners to support the migration of deposits, withdrawals and technical integrations.
Engineering assistance will be provided to ecosystem participants to help coordinate the transition and reduce the risk of fragmented or inconsistent implementation. The network expects this approach to allow service providers to move their operations in an organized manner rather than through separate and potentially incompatible processes.
The legacy environment was developed under a different technological and security landscape. Maintaining it alongside Zilliqa EVM would require continued operational resources that the network believes could be redirected toward future development and infrastructure.
The migration plan will also include a review and strengthening of Zilliqa EVM’s validator network, governance structure and operational infrastructure, while legacy components will be removed instead of being transferred to the new environment.
Recovery Framework Targets Affected Holders
Zilliqa said it was developing a recovery framework intended to provide affected holders with a clear process for seeking compensation or restoration. The network is still determining how ownership claims will be verified and stated that the process would seek to minimize the collection of personal information while maintaining sufficient safeguards against fraudulent claims.
The total amount associated with the incident is currently estimated at approximately 683.13 million ZIL tokens. The network did not provide a final timetable for the recovery program or disclose the full method that would be used to calculate individual claims.
An update has been added to the Ledger incident hub, outlining the recovery and transition plan. https://t.co/ZlEqAjMGIX
The legacy (non-EVM) side of Zilliqa is being retired, with recovery taking place through migration to Zilliqa EVM.
— Zilliqa (@zilliqa) July 31, 2026
The platform also plans to revise its tokenomics framework to restore balances held within the retired environment, maintain validator incentives and support network operations throughout the migration period.
Zilliqa said efforts to recover the stolen assets would continue through cooperation with law enforcement agencies, cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and other ecosystem partners. The network indicated that potential legal action would be evaluated according to its likely effectiveness and pursued selectively.
Long-Term Strategy Remains Focused on Zilliqa EVM
The organization said it would provide regular updates to users, exchanges and infrastructure partners throughout the transition. Future communications are expected to explain both the technical measures being implemented and the reasons for the network’s decisions.
By consolidating operations on Zilliqa EVM, the protocol aims to simplify its technical architecture, strengthen security and redirect development toward institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure.
Zilliqa indicated that the incident had not changed the network’s broader strategic direction but had reinforced the need to execute its transition more quickly. With the legacy environment scheduled for retirement, future development will focus on Zilliqa EVM and the institutional infrastructure that the protocol had already identified as a long-term priority.
