Aztec speeds up private Ethereum transactions from two minutes to 12 seconds 🔒

The Aztec Foundation said Tuesday that Aztec, a privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 network, has released the Aztec Tierra upgrade, designated Alpha V6, introducing stronger security, formal verification and faster deposits from Ethereum alongside a refreshed brand. The upgrade resolves known vulnerabilities from earlier versions, including a critical issue discovered in V5, and adds extensive hardening through an AI-powered security testing harness and formal verification of core cryptographic components.

Aztec said private transactions now generate client-side proofs in about one second on a standard device, twice as fast as before. A new architecture also reduces average Ethereum-to-Aztec message time from two minutes to as little as 12 seconds, accelerating deposits and cross-chain activity. “Privacy shouldn’t be something you have to request or trust someone else to protect,” said Zac Williamson, co-founder and CEO of the Aztec Foundation. “It should be built into the network.”

The decentralized layer-2 operates with more than 3,000 validators and fully programmable private smart contracts. Aztec has no privileged viewing keys or centralized sequencer, meaning no single operator can view or control user activity. The network was built to keep transaction details hidden while supporting private applications across payments, trading, AI and social.

Aztec Labs revived zk.money this year as a private payments and savings application. With Tierra’s faster messaging, users can deposit directly from any Ethereum wallet without complex bridging. Other applications in the release include Galactica for private AI inference, Nemi for private perpetuals trading, Nulo, a private browser wallet, and Rolling Chat, a private message board based on Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s Aztec experiments.

The release coincides with renewed efforts to advance privacy on Ethereum. Buterin has outlined plans for a “cryptographic world computer” and advocated reducing the cost of quantum-safe privacy, while a separate team spun out a for-profit company to promote institutional adoption of privacy technology. Aztec, which raised $17 million in an earlier funding round to expand its network, says it is working toward making privacy a default feature of Ethereum.