Aztec Launches Alpha Network, Ethereum's First L2 for Private Smart Contracts

Aztec Network has launched its Alpha Network, delivering what it says is the first Ethereum Layer 2 with a complete execution environment for private smart contracts.

The upgrade, which followed a unanimous community governance vote, builds on the Ignition Chain that went live in November 2025 as the coordination layer for decentralized sequencing and block production.

$AZTEC is up 5% in the past 24 hours, trading at a roughly $200 million valuation, according to Coingecko.

Aztec's approach integrates privacy across three layers: data, identity, and compute. Private data enables confidential transactions, payments, and RWA transfers. Private identity allows selective disclosure for compliance and institutional reporting. Private compute keeps onchain actions hidden, opening the door to applications in private DeFi and gaming.

Contracts are written in Noir, Aztec's Rust-like programming language. Private logic executes client-side and generates a zero-knowledge proof on the user's device using the project's CHONK proving system, purpose-built for phones and browsers. The proof is submitted to sequencers, who validate it without seeing the data, and the full batch settles on Ethereum roughly every 12 seconds.

The project — which launched its public testnet in May 2025 after eight years of development — touts Alpha as the culmination of parallel work across its execution layer, proving system, programming language, and decentralization stack.

Known Vulnerabilities

The launch comes with significant caveats. Aztec disclosed a critical vulnerability in the current Alpha v4 code on March 27, affecting the proving system and potentially enabling theft of user funds. The patch will ship with the v5 release planned for July 2026.

The team warned that Alpha is experimental software and urged users not to deposit more than they are willing to lose.

The project has raised over $178 million in total funding, including a $100 million Series B led by a16z, with backing from Paradigm and Vitalik Buterin. The $AZTEC token launched in February following a $61 million community sale conducted via Uniswap's Continuous Clearing Auction in December.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.