Lens Mainnet is About to Launch: Analysis of Major Upgrades in V3 Version

In the social domain on the Ethereum chain, there are currently two projects that dominate: Farcaster and Lens. The daily active wallet count of Farcaster is about 4 times that of Lens, while the account count of Lens is approximately 640,000.

However, this data is based on the old Lens V2 system. Even in the transitional state, the project has facilitated a considerable amount of activity. Later this year, the revamped Lens V3 protocol will be launched on the new Lens Chain, which will bring a series of new innovations and opportunities to the Lens space.

Main Features of Lens V3

In November 2024, Lens launched version V3. Compared to V2 on Polygon, V3 is a significant leap forward. It reorganizes Lens's on-chain social interactions, supported by a more flexible and modular infrastructure.

The core changes of V3 include:

1. New Lens Chain: A second-layer network based on ZKsync, featuring Avail data availability, designed for low-cost social trading.

2. Social features: As building blocks on the chain, developers can mix and match. The main functions include:

   • Account: An ID based on smart contracts, providing greater user control and portability.
   • Username: Fully transferable NFT that allows users to maintain multiple identities across different applications.
   • Chart: Redesigned attention system with support for custom rules.
   • Information Flow: On-chain content hub that defines content publishing, monetization, and curation permissions.
   • Group: A community based on membership, with governance tools.

GHO as a Gas Token

In February 2025, Lens announced that it would use the decentralized stablecoin GHO as the native gas token for Lens Chain. This innovation aims to bring more predictability and accessibility to transaction fees.

By using stablecoins, Lens V3 aims to keep transaction costs stable and simple. GHO will be integrated through the shared bridge of ZKsync, becoming the main liquidity pool for Lens Chain users.

Lens Chain Migration Progress

In February 2025, Lens completed an important step in migrating V2 data from Polygon to the Lens Chain testnet V3 smart contracts. This migration involved over 125GB of data, including existing profiles, 28 million follower connections, 16 million posts, and 360 Lens applications.

Once the Lens Chain Mainnet is launched, users will not need to take any manual steps. Their social graph will remain intact, and popular applications like Hey and Orb will be available from day one.

ZIP-7 Proposal

The Lens team recently submitted the ZIP-7 proposal to the ZKsync community governance, aiming to incorporate Lens Chain into the Elastic Network. This proposal is currently in the on-chain voting phase, and if approved, it will enable the integration of Lens Chain with ZKsync's L2 interoperable ecosystem.

Voting will end on March 10, 2025. If the proposal is approved, it will pave the way for the launch of Lens V3 and open a new chapter for the Lens community.

With these significant upgrades and developments, Lens is moving towards becoming a more powerful and flexible on-chain social platform. The launch of version 3 is expected to bring more innovative possibilities for users and developers, further promoting the development of the Web3 social space.