diff --git a/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler.go b/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler.go
index 895e5552bd0..0d36276dd82 100644
--- a/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler.go
+++ b/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler.go
@@ -15,19 +15,18 @@
 package kafkareceiver
 
 import (
-	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 
-	"github.com/apache/thrift/lib/go/thrift"
-	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/thrift-gen/zipkincore"
 	zipkinmodel "github.com/openzipkin/zipkin-go/model"
 	"github.com/openzipkin/zipkin-go/proto/zipkin_proto3"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
-	zipkintranslator "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkin"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkinv1"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkinv2"
 )
 
+var v1ThriftUnmarshaler = zipkinv1.NewThriftTracesUnmarshaler()
+
 type zipkinProtoSpanUnmarshaler struct {
 }
 
@@ -71,41 +70,9 @@ type zipkinThriftSpanUnmarshaler struct {
 var _ TracesUnmarshaler = (*zipkinThriftSpanUnmarshaler)(nil)
 
 func (z zipkinThriftSpanUnmarshaler) Unmarshal(bytes []byte) (pdata.Traces, error) {
-	spans, err := deserializeZipkinThrift(bytes)
-	if err != nil {
-		return pdata.NewTraces(), err
-	}
-	return zipkintranslator.V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces(spans)
-
+	return v1ThriftUnmarshaler.Unmarshal(bytes)
 }
 
 func (z zipkinThriftSpanUnmarshaler) Encoding() string {
 	return "zipkin_thrift"
 }
-
-// deserializeThrift decodes Thrift bytes to a list of spans.
-// This code comes from jaegertracing/jaeger, ideally we should have imported
-// it but this was creating many conflicts so brought the code to here.
-// https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/blob/6bc0c122bfca8e737a747826ae60a22a306d7019/model/converter/thrift/zipkin/deserialize.go#L36
-func deserializeZipkinThrift(b []byte) ([]*zipkincore.Span, error) {
-	buffer := thrift.NewTMemoryBuffer()
-	buffer.Write(b)
-
-	transport := thrift.NewTBinaryProtocolConf(buffer, nil)
-	_, size, err := transport.ReadListBegin(context.Background()) // Ignore the returned element type
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	// We don't depend on the size returned by ReadListBegin to preallocate the array because it
-	// sometimes returns a nil error on bad input and provides an unreasonably large int for size
-	var spans []*zipkincore.Span
-	for i := 0; i < size; i++ {
-		zs := &zipkincore.Span{}
-		if err = zs.Read(context.Background(), transport); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		spans = append(spans, zs)
-	}
-	return spans, nil
-}
diff --git a/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler_test.go b/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler_test.go
index 58469532b24..8c4248be3ca 100644
--- a/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler_test.go
+++ b/receiver/kafkareceiver/zipkin_unmarshaler_test.go
@@ -28,11 +28,10 @@ import (
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/conventions"
-	zipkintranslator "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkin"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkinv2"
 )
 
-var fromTranslator zipkinv2.FromTranslator
+var v2FromTranslator zipkinv2.FromTranslator
 
 func TestUnmarshalZipkin(t *testing.T) {
 	td := pdata.NewTraces()
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ func TestUnmarshalZipkin(t *testing.T) {
 	span.SetTraceID(pdata.NewTraceID([16]byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16}))
 	span.SetSpanID(pdata.NewSpanID([8]byte{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}))
 	span.SetParentSpanID(pdata.NewSpanID([8]byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}))
-	ret, err := fromTranslator.FromTraces(td)
+	ret, err := v2FromTranslator.FromTraces(td)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	spans := ret.([]*zipkinmodel.SpanModel)
 
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ func TestUnmarshalZipkin(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.NoError(t, protocolTransport.WriteListEnd(context.Background()))
 
-	tdThrift, err := zipkintranslator.V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces([]*zipkincore.Span{tSpan})
+	tdThrift, err := v1ThriftUnmarshaler.Unmarshal(thriftTransport.Buffer.Bytes())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	protoBytes, err := new(zipkin_proto3.SpanSerializer).Serialize(spans)
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ func TestUnmarshalZipkin(t *testing.T) {
 func TestUnmarshalZipkinThrift_error(t *testing.T) {
 	p := zipkinThriftSpanUnmarshaler{}
 	got, err := p.Unmarshal([]byte("+$%"))
-	assert.Equal(t, pdata.NewTraces(), got)
+	assert.Equal(t, pdata.Traces{}, got)
 	assert.Error(t, err)
 }
 
diff --git a/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver.go b/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver.go
index 6b3381e493c..488715424b5 100644
--- a/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver.go
+++ b/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver.go
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 
-	jaegerzipkin "github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/model/converter/thrift/zipkin"
 	zipkinmodel "github.com/openzipkin/zipkin-go/model"
 	"github.com/openzipkin/zipkin-go/proto/zipkin_proto3"
 
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@ import (
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/model"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/obsreport"
-	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkin"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkinv1"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkinv2"
 )
 
@@ -66,6 +65,9 @@ type ZipkinReceiver struct {
 	server     *http.Server
 	config     *Config
 	translator model.ToTracesTranslator
+
+	v1ThriftUnmarshaler model.TracesUnmarshaler
+	v1JSONUnmarshaler   model.TracesUnmarshaler
 }
 
 var _ http.Handler = (*ZipkinReceiver)(nil)
@@ -77,10 +79,12 @@ func New(config *Config, nextConsumer consumer.Traces) (*ZipkinReceiver, error)
 	}
 
 	zr := &ZipkinReceiver{
-		nextConsumer: nextConsumer,
-		id:           config.ID(),
-		config:       config,
-		translator:   zipkinv2.ToTranslator{ParseStringTags: config.ParseStringTags},
+		nextConsumer:        nextConsumer,
+		id:                  config.ID(),
+		config:              config,
+		translator:          zipkinv2.ToTranslator{ParseStringTags: config.ParseStringTags},
+		v1ThriftUnmarshaler: zipkinv1.NewThriftTracesUnmarshaler(),
+		v1JSONUnmarshaler:   zipkinv1.NewJSONTracesUnmarshaler(config.ParseStringTags),
 	}
 	return zr, nil
 }
@@ -116,14 +120,9 @@ func (zr *ZipkinReceiver) Start(_ context.Context, host component.Host) error {
 // v1ToTraceSpans parses Zipkin v1 JSON traces and converts them to OpenCensus Proto spans.
 func (zr *ZipkinReceiver) v1ToTraceSpans(blob []byte, hdr http.Header) (reqs pdata.Traces, err error) {
 	if hdr.Get("Content-Type") == "application/x-thrift" {
-		zSpans, err := jaegerzipkin.DeserializeThrift(blob)
-		if err != nil {
-			return pdata.NewTraces(), err
-		}
-
-		return zipkin.V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces(zSpans)
+		return zr.v1ThriftUnmarshaler.Unmarshal(blob)
 	}
-	return zipkin.V1JSONBatchToInternalTraces(blob, zr.config.ParseStringTags)
+	return zr.v1JSONUnmarshaler.Unmarshal(blob)
 }
 
 // v2ToTraceSpans parses Zipkin v2 JSON or Protobuf traces and converts them to OpenCensus Proto spans.
diff --git a/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver_test.go b/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver_test.go
index 8fad5f1835b..3b439a587d7 100644
--- a/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver_test.go
+++ b/receiver/zipkinreceiver/trace_receiver_test.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ import (
 const (
 	zipkinV2Single      = "../../translator/trace/zipkinv2/testdata/zipkin_v2_single.json"
 	zipkinV2NoTimestamp = "../../translator/trace/zipkinv2/testdata/zipkin_v2_notimestamp.json"
-	zipkinV1SingleBatch = "../../translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json"
+	zipkinV1SingleBatch = "../../translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json"
 )
 
 var zipkinReceiverID = config.NewIDWithName(typeStr, "receiver_test")
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces.go b/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 0eee057a9df..00000000000
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
-
-package zipkin
-
-import (
-	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/thrift-gen/zipkincore"
-
-	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
-	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/internaldata"
-)
-
-// V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces transforms Zipkin v1 spans into pdata.Traces.
-func V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces(zSpans []*zipkincore.Span) (pdata.Traces, error) {
-	traces := pdata.NewTraces()
-	ocTraces, _ := v1ThriftBatchToOCProto(zSpans)
-
-	for _, td := range ocTraces {
-		tmp := internaldata.OCToTraces(td.Node, td.Resource, td.Spans)
-		tmp.ResourceSpans().MoveAndAppendTo(traces.ResourceSpans())
-	}
-	return traces, nil
-}
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index c019ee7c8cb..00000000000
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_traces_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
-
-package zipkin
-
-import (
-	"encoding/json"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/thrift-gen/zipkincore"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func TestV1ThriftToTraces(t *testing.T) {
-	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json")
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
-
-	var ztSpans []*zipkincore.Span
-	err = json.Unmarshal(blob, &ztSpans)
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to unmarshal json into zipkin v1 thrift")
-
-	got, err := V1ThriftBatchToInternalTraces(ztSpans)
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 thrift to OC proto")
-
-	assert.Equal(t, 5, got.SpanCount())
-}
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index e91d2b1c734..00000000000
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
-
-package zipkin
-
-import (
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func TestSingleJSONV1BatchToTraces(t *testing.T) {
-	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json")
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
-
-	got, err := V1JSONBatchToInternalTraces(blob, false)
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 to OC proto")
-
-	assert.Equal(t, 5, got.SpanCount())
-}
-
-func TestErrorSpanToTraces(t *testing.T) {
-	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json")
-	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
-
-	td, err := V1JSONBatchToInternalTraces(blob, false)
-	assert.Error(t, err, "Should have generated error")
-	assert.NotNil(t, td)
-}
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/consumerdata.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/consumerdata.go
similarity index 98%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/consumerdata.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/consumerdata.go
index 6495ca93f28..65fdd62d770 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/consumerdata.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/consumerdata.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	commonpb "github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-proto/gen-go/agent/common/v1"
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper.go
similarity index 99%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper.go
index 52d75b9f3ed..e3a1beb6428 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 // https://github.com/googleapis/googleapis/blob/bee79fbe03254a35db125dc6d2f1e9b752b390fe/google/rpc/code.proto#L33-L186
 const (
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper_test.go
similarity index 98%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper_test.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper_test.go
index 874ac1a6d2e..3b5fdde1beb 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/grpc_http_mapper_test.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/grpc_http_mapper_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"testing"
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/json.go
similarity index 91%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/json.go
index d61ae268696..6c2700e8f4c 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/json.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/timestamppb"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
-	idutils "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/idutils"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/idutils"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/model"
 	tracetranslator "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkin"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -39,14 +41,30 @@ var (
 	msgZipkinV1SpanIDError        = "zipkinV1 span id"
 	msgZipkinV1ParentIDError      = "zipkinV1 span parentId"
 	// Generic hex to ID conversion errors
-	errHexTraceIDWrongLen = errors.New("hex traceId span has wrong length (expected 16 or 32)")
-	errHexTraceIDParsing  = errors.New("failed to parse hex traceId")
-	errHexTraceIDZero     = errors.New("traceId is zero")
-	errHexIDWrongLen      = errors.New("hex Id has wrong length (expected 16)")
-	errHexIDParsing       = errors.New("failed to parse hex Id")
-	errHexIDZero          = errors.New("ID is zero")
+	errHexTraceIDWrongLen                     = errors.New("hex traceId span has wrong length (expected 16 or 32)")
+	errHexTraceIDParsing                      = errors.New("failed to parse hex traceId")
+	errHexTraceIDZero                         = errors.New("traceId is zero")
+	errHexIDWrongLen                          = errors.New("hex Id has wrong length (expected 16)")
+	errHexIDParsing                           = errors.New("failed to parse hex Id")
+	errHexIDZero                              = errors.New("ID is zero")
+	_                     model.TracesDecoder = (*jsonDecoder)(nil)
 )
 
+type jsonDecoder struct {
+	// ParseStringTags should be set to true if tags should be converted to numbers when possible.
+	ParseStringTags bool
+}
+
+// DecodeTraces from JSON bytes.
+func (j jsonDecoder) DecodeTraces(buf []byte) (interface{}, error) {
+	return v1JSONBatchToOCProto(buf, j.ParseStringTags)
+}
+
+// NewJSONTracesUnmarshaler returns an unmarshaler for Zipkin JSON.
+func NewJSONTracesUnmarshaler(parseStringTags bool) model.TracesUnmarshaler {
+	return model.NewTracesUnmarshaler(jsonDecoder{ParseStringTags: parseStringTags}, toTranslator{})
+}
+
 // Trace translation from Zipkin V1 is a bit of special case since there is no model
 // defined in golang for Zipkin V1 spans and there is no need to define one here, given
 // that the zipkinV1Span defined below is as defined at:
@@ -254,7 +272,7 @@ func parseAnnotationValue(value string, parseStringTags bool) *tracepb.Attribute
 	pbAttrib := &tracepb.AttributeValue{}
 
 	if parseStringTags {
-		switch DetermineValueType(value) {
+		switch zipkin.DetermineValueType(value) {
 		case pdata.AttributeValueTypeInt:
 			iValue, _ := strconv.ParseInt(value, 10, 64)
 			pbAttrib.Value = &tracepb.AttributeValue_IntValue{IntValue: iValue}
@@ -509,7 +527,7 @@ func setTimestampsIfUnset(span *tracepb.Span) {
 		if span.Attributes.AttributeMap == nil {
 			span.Attributes.AttributeMap = make(map[string]*tracepb.AttributeValue, 1)
 		}
-		span.Attributes.AttributeMap[StartTimeAbsent] = &tracepb.AttributeValue{
+		span.Attributes.AttributeMap[zipkin.StartTimeAbsent] = &tracepb.AttributeValue{
 			Value: &tracepb.AttributeValue_BoolValue{
 				BoolValue: true,
 			}}
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/json_test.go
similarity index 95%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan_test.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/json_test.go
index 1125cdf09c9..accb45b69c6 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_protospan_test.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/json_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
@@ -24,17 +24,42 @@ import (
 
 	commonpb "github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-proto/gen-go/agent/common/v1"
 	tracepb "github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-proto/gen-go/trace/v1"
-	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	zipkinmodel "github.com/openzipkin/zipkin-go/model"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-	"google.golang.org/protobuf/testing/protocmp"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/timestamppb"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/conventions"
 	tracetranslator "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace/zipkin"
 )
 
+func TestSingleJSONV1BatchToTraces(t *testing.T) {
+	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json")
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
+
+	got, err := jsonDecoder{ParseStringTags: false}.DecodeTraces(blob)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 to OC proto")
+
+	td := got.([]traceData)
+	spanCount := 0
+
+	for _, data := range td {
+		spanCount += len(data.Spans)
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 5, spanCount)
+}
+
+func TestErrorSpanToTraces(t *testing.T) {
+	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json")
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
+
+	got, err := jsonDecoder{ParseStringTags: false}.DecodeTraces(blob)
+	assert.Error(t, err, "Should have generated error")
+	assert.Nil(t, got)
+}
+
 func Test_hexIDToOCID(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name    string
@@ -159,11 +184,7 @@ func TestSingleJSONV1BatchToOCProto(t *testing.T) {
 	got, err := v1JSONBatchToOCProto(blob, parseStringTags)
 	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 to OC proto")
 
-	want := ocBatchesFromZipkinV1
-	sortTraceByNodeName(want)
-	sortTraceByNodeName(got)
-
-	assert.EqualValues(t, got, want)
+	compareTraceData(t, got, ocBatchesFromZipkinV1)
 }
 
 func TestMultipleJSONV1BatchesToOCProto(t *testing.T) {
@@ -200,13 +221,7 @@ func TestMultipleJSONV1BatchesToOCProto(t *testing.T) {
 		got = append(got, *tsr)
 	}
 
-	want := ocBatchesFromZipkinV1
-	sortTraceByNodeName(want)
-	sortTraceByNodeName(got)
-
-	if diff := cmp.Diff(want, got, protocmp.Transform()); diff != "" {
-		t.Errorf("Unexpected difference:\n%v", diff)
-	}
+	compareTraceData(t, got, ocBatchesFromZipkinV1)
 }
 
 func sortTraceByNodeName(trace []traceData) {
@@ -538,7 +553,7 @@ func TestSpanWithoutTimestampGetsTag(t *testing.T) {
 
 	wantAttributes := &tracepb.Span_Attributes{
 		AttributeMap: map[string]*tracepb.AttributeValue{
-			StartTimeAbsent: {
+			zipkin.StartTimeAbsent: {
 				Value: &tracepb.AttributeValue_BoolValue{
 					BoolValue: true,
 				},
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/status_code.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code.go
similarity index 99%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/status_code.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code.go
index 62f0fff9bb5..9cb611a6424 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/status_code.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/status_code_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code_test.go
similarity index 99%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/status_code_test.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code_test.go
index c568dd34b1d..3b84f2687b5 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/status_code_test.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/status_code_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_error_batch.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_local_component.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_local_component.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_local_component.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_local_component.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_multiple_batches.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_multiple_batches.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_multiple_batches.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_multiple_batches.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_single_batch.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_local_component.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_local_component.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_local_component.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_local_component.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json
similarity index 100%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift.go
similarity index 92%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift.go
index 2e588560bbd..73dff84642a 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
@@ -24,12 +24,32 @@ import (
 	"net"
 
 	tracepb "github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-proto/gen-go/trace/v1"
+	jaegerzipkin "github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/model/converter/thrift/zipkin"
 	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/thrift-gen/zipkincore"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/timestamppb"
 
-	idutils "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/idutils"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/idutils"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/model"
 )
 
+var _ model.TracesDecoder = (*thriftDecoder)(nil)
+
+type thriftDecoder struct{}
+
+// DecodeTraces from Thrift bytes.
+func (t thriftDecoder) DecodeTraces(buf []byte) (interface{}, error) {
+	spans, err := jaegerzipkin.DeserializeThrift(buf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return v1ThriftBatchToOCProto(spans)
+}
+
+// NewThriftTracesUnmarshaler returns an unmarshaler for Zipkin Thrift.
+func NewThriftTracesUnmarshaler() model.TracesUnmarshaler {
+	return model.NewTracesUnmarshaler(thriftDecoder{}, toTranslator{})
+}
+
 // v1ThriftBatchToOCProto converts Zipkin v1 spans to OC Proto.
 func v1ThriftBatchToOCProto(zSpans []*zipkincore.Span) ([]traceData, error) {
 	ocSpansAndParsedAnnotations := make([]ocSpanAndParsedAnnotations, 0, len(zSpans))
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan_test.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift_test.go
similarity index 93%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan_test.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift_test.go
index 39715f996a2..8747827fab4 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_thrift_to_protospan_test.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/thrift_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"encoding/binary"
@@ -23,14 +23,47 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	tracepb "github.com/census-instrumentation/opencensus-proto/gen-go/trace/v1"
+	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
+	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/model/converter/thrift/zipkin"
 	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/thrift-gen/zipkincore"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/testing/protocmp"
 
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/conventions"
 	tracetranslator "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/trace"
 )
 
+// compareTraceData compares got to want while ignoring order. Both are modified in place.
+func compareTraceData(t *testing.T, got []traceData, want []traceData) {
+	sortTraceByNodeName(want)
+	sortTraceByNodeName(got)
+	if diff := cmp.Diff(want, got, protocmp.Transform()); diff != "" {
+		t.Errorf("Unexpected difference:\n%v", diff)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestV1ThriftToTraces(t *testing.T) {
+	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_single_batch.json")
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
+
+	var zSpans []*zipkincore.Span
+	require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(blob, &zSpans), "failed to unmarshal json test file")
+	thriftBytes := zipkin.SerializeThrift(zSpans)
+
+	got, err := thriftDecoder{}.DecodeTraces(thriftBytes)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 thrift to OC proto")
+
+	td := got.([]traceData)
+	spanCount := 0
+
+	for _, data := range td {
+		spanCount += len(data.Spans)
+	}
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 5, spanCount)
+}
+
 func TestZipkinThriftFallbackToLocalComponent(t *testing.T) {
 	blob, err := ioutil.ReadFile("./testdata/zipkin_v1_thrift_local_component.json")
 	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to load test data")
@@ -68,11 +101,7 @@ func TestV1ThriftToOCProto(t *testing.T) {
 	got, err := v1ThriftBatchToOCProto(ztSpans)
 	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to translate zipkinv1 thrift to OC proto")
 
-	want := ocBatchesFromZipkinV1
-	sortTraceByNodeName(want)
-	sortTraceByNodeName(got)
-
-	assert.EqualValues(t, want, got)
+	compareTraceData(t, got, ocBatchesFromZipkinV1)
 }
 
 func BenchmarkV1ThriftToOCProto(b *testing.B) {
diff --git a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces.go b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/to_translator.go
similarity index 54%
rename from translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces.go
rename to translator/trace/zipkinv1/to_translator.go
index 997edb16d8d..0819510201e 100644
--- a/translator/trace/zipkin/zipkinv1_to_traces.go
+++ b/translator/trace/zipkinv1/to_translator.go
@@ -12,25 +12,31 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-package zipkin
+package zipkinv1
 
 import (
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/consumer/pdata"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/internal/model"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/collector/translator/internaldata"
 )
 
-// V1JSONBatchToInternalTraces transforms a JSON blob with a list of Zipkin v1 spans into pdata.Traces.
-func V1JSONBatchToInternalTraces(blob []byte, parseStringTags bool) (pdata.Traces, error) {
-	traces := pdata.NewTraces()
+var _ model.ToTracesTranslator = (*toTranslator)(nil)
 
-	ocTraces, err := v1JSONBatchToOCProto(blob, parseStringTags)
-	if err != nil {
-		return traces, err
+type toTranslator struct{}
+
+// ToTraces converts converts traceData to pdata.Traces.
+func (t toTranslator) ToTraces(src interface{}) (pdata.Traces, error) {
+	ocTraces, ok := src.([]traceData)
+	if !ok {
+		return pdata.Traces{}, model.NewErrIncompatibleType([]traceData{}, src)
 	}
 
-	for _, td := range ocTraces {
-		tmp := internaldata.OCToTraces(td.Node, td.Resource, td.Spans)
-		tmp.ResourceSpans().MoveAndAppendTo(traces.ResourceSpans())
+	td := pdata.NewTraces()
+
+	for _, trace := range ocTraces {
+		tmp := internaldata.OCToTraces(trace.Node, trace.Resource, trace.Spans)
+		tmp.ResourceSpans().MoveAndAppendTo(td.ResourceSpans())
 	}
-	return traces, nil
+
+	return td, nil
 }