A Polygon zkEVM explorer today is an archive rather than a live dashboard. zkEVM Mainnet Beta (chain ID 1101) stopped producing blocks when its sequencer was shut down in early July 2026, but every past transaction can still be looked up on zkEVM PolygonScan in read-only form. This page explains where to search, how to deal with leftover funds, and what happened to the zkEVM testnets and Miden.
Quick answer
For old zkEVM transactions, use zkevm.polygonscan.com (read-only archive; availability may change). For stranded wallet funds, follow the official claim process on polygon.technology. For new projects, build on Polygon PoS or test on Amoy. Cardona testnet is gone, and Miden is now an independent project.
A short history of Polygon zkEVM
Polygon zkEVM was Polygon's zero-knowledge rollup: an Ethereum layer 2 that executed transactions off-chain and posted validity proofs to Ethereum. It aimed to be EVM-equivalent, so the same contracts and tools worked without changes, and it used ETH (not POL) for gas.
zkEVM Mainnet Beta launches with chain ID 1101 and ETH as gas token.
The Goerli-based zkEVM testnet (chain 1442) is retired; Cardona on Sepolia (chain 2442) replaces it.
Polygon Labs announces zkEVM Mainnet Beta will be sunset in 2026, with a 12-month migration window.
Sequencer shut down. No new blocks; history remains viewable in explorer archives.
Why sunset it? Polygon's focus shifted toward payments, stablecoins and real-world assets on the PoS chain, plus the Agglayer as a cross-chain settlement layer. Running a separate zk rollup with modest usage no longer fit that plan. The zkEVM technology fed into other parts of the stack; the chain itself was wound down.
Where to find a Polygon zkEVM block explorer now
When zkEVM was live, you had several explorers to choose from. In our September 2026 checks, the picture looked like this.
| Explorer | Status (Sep 2026) | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| zkEVM PolygonScan | Read-only archive | Old tx and contract lookups |
| OKLink zkEVM | Historical pages indexed | Second opinion, labels |
| Blockscout zkEVM | Historical instance | Open-source view, if online |
| Our live explorer | zkEVM tab, RPC mode | Quick check while RPC answers |
zkEVM PolygonScan (archive)
zkEVM PolygonScan is the most complete record. Built by the Etherscan team like its PoS sibling, it keeps transactions, addresses, verified contract source code and token transfers. Search works the same way as always: paste a hash, address or block number. You won't see new blocks, and some live features (gas tracker, charts that rely on fresh data) are frozen at the shutdown. Treat it as an archive whose availability may change: if you need a record, save it now.
OKLink and Blockscout
OKLink indexed zkEVM mainnet and Cardona, and its address labels can help identify bridges and protocols in old transactions. Blockscout also ran a zkEVM instance during the chain's life. Both are useful as a second opinion, but check their pages before relying on them, since archive coverage of retired chains tends to shrink. Our page on other Polygon explorers covers OKLink in more depth.
Our zkEVM tab
The live Polygon explorer on this site has a zkEVM network tab. It works in basic RPC mode: status, from, to, value, fee and block for a transaction, as long as a public zkEVM RPC endpoint still answers. It won't show token transfers or balances. When it does return a result, the Share and Print buttons give you a portable record, which is handy for accounting before archive access changes.
Looking up old zkEVM transactions: what to check
Most people visiting a zkEVM explorer in 2026 want one of three things: proof that a past transaction happened, a history for tax or accounting, or confirmation of whether funds are still sitting on the chain.
- Confirm it really was zkEVM. zkEVM hashes and addresses look identical to Polygon PoS and Ethereum ones. If a hash isn't found on zkEVM PolygonScan, try the Polygon PoS explorer and Etherscan.
- Open the address, not just the transaction. The address page shows ETH and token balances at the time of shutdown. Anything still listed there is what the claim process deals with.
- Export or print what you need. Download CSV history from PolygonScan where available, or save individual transactions as PDF.
- Look for bridge transactions. If you bridged out before the shutdown, you'll see a bridge call on zkEVM and a matching claim on Ethereum. Our bridge explorer guide explains how to pair them.
How a zkEVM transaction page differs from a PoS one
If you've used PolygonScan for the PoS chain, the zkEVM archive will look familiar, but a few fields mean something different. Knowing them saves a lot of head-scratching when you're reconciling old records.
Batches and proofs. A zkEVM transaction went through several stages. The sequencer included it in an L2 block almost instantly, then grouped blocks into a batch, posted that batch's data to Ethereum, and finally submitted a validity proof. zkEVM PolygonScan shows batch numbers and the stage each one reached (often labelled as trusted, virtual and verified, or similar). A transaction was only truly final once its batch was verified on Ethereum.
Fees in ETH. The fee line shows ETH. Gas prices on zkEVM were typically low compared with Ethereum mainnet, but the numbers won't line up with POL-denominated PoS receipts.
Bridge deposits and claims. Transfers between Ethereum and zkEVM went through the zkEVM bridge, which later became part of the unified bridge used by the Agglayer. A bridge transfer shows up as two separate transactions, one on each chain, and a "claim" step on the destination. If you only see one side, the transfer may never have been claimed.
Same addresses, different chain. Contract addresses on zkEVM often match addresses on other EVM chains because developers deployed with the same key and nonce. A matching address is not proof that you're looking at the same contract or the same funds. Always check which chain the explorer is showing.
In our tests, the fastest way to cross-check a zkEVM record was to open it on zkEVM PolygonScan first, then confirm the matching Ethereum-side transaction on Etherscan for anything involving the bridge.
Claiming funds after the zkEVM sunset
This is the part that matters if you had assets on zkEVM when the sequencer stopped. We're not affiliated with Polygon Labs, so treat this as orientation and follow the official instructions.
Assets held directly in your wallet (ETH or tokens at your own address) are covered by the forced-withdrawal and claim process that Polygon published. The current steps, tools and deadlines are on the official Polygon zkEVM page. In short, you prove your balance from the chain's final state and claim it on Ethereum. Check the zkEVM explorer archive first to confirm exactly what your address held.
Funds inside DeFi protocols (liquidity pools, lending positions, vaults) are harder. Those assets belong to the protocol's contract, not to your address, so a wallet-level claim may not reach them. Some protocols ran their own wind-down; others did not. Funds stuck in DeFi may not be automatically recoverable. Check each protocol's official channels.
After you claim, you'll hold ETH or tokens on Ethereum. If you want to move to Polygon PoS, a regulated exchange that holds licences in several jurisdictions and supports direct Polygon withdrawals is often simpler than bridging small amounts. Always pick the Polygon PoS network on the withdrawal screen.
zkEVM testnets: Goerli (1442) and Cardona (2442)
The Polygon zkEVM testnet explorer went through two generations.
| Testnet | Chain ID | Anchored to | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| zkEVM testnet | 1442 | Goerli | Retired |
| Cardona | 2442 | Sepolia | Wound down with zkEVM |
The original zkEVM testnet ran on Goerli and was retired when Goerli was deprecated, much like Polygon's old Mumbai PoS testnet. Cardona replaced it on Sepolia, with its own PolygonScan and OKLink pages, and was the place to test zkEVM deployments until the wind-down. Test tokens on Cardona had no value, so there's nothing to claim.
For current testing on Polygon, use the PoS testnet. Our Amoy testnet explorer guide covers chain ID 80002, faucets and contract verification.
Polygon Miden and its testnet explorer
You may still see "Polygon Miden" in older articles and search results. Miden was a STARK-based, privacy-focused rollup project incubated at Polygon Labs. In 2025 it was spun out as an independent company, and it's no longer part of the Polygon product line.
Miden works differently from the EVM chains on this site. It uses its own virtual machine, accounts can keep state private on the client, and it moves value through "notes" rather than simple balance transfers. That means ordinary Polygon explorers can't read it. If you're looking for a Polygon Miden testnet explorer, use Miden's own testnet explorer, linked from the project's official documentation. We don't review it here, because it's outside the Polygon ecosystem we cover.
What zk explorer users should use instead
If you came here looking for a zk Polygon explorer for new activity, the honest answer is that Polygon's action has moved.
- Payments, stablecoins, DeFi: Polygon PoS. Start with our ranking of the best Polygon explorers and the live tool.
- Cross-chain activity: the Agglayer and Polygon Portal. The bridge guide explains how to track transfers.
- Testing contracts: Amoy testnet.
- zk proofs and research: the broader Polygon technology stack, documented at docs.polygon.technology.
We'll keep this page updated as archive availability changes. If zkEVM PolygonScan or OKLink drops its zkEVM pages, we'll say so here.