Aztec, the privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 network, has rolled out a major upgrade that patches a critical vulnerability from its previous version, doubles the speed of private transactions, and introduces a wave of applications built to keep user data hidden.

The Aztec Foundation said Tuesday that the upgrade, called Aztec Tierra and designated Alpha V6, delivers stronger security, formal verification of its proving system, and faster deposits from Ethereum, alongside a refreshed brand.

Aztec operates as a decentralized layer-2 with more than 3,000 validators and fully programmable private smart contracts. The project says it has no privileged viewing keys and no centralized sequencer, meaning no single operator can peer into or control user activity—a notable contrast with most layer-2 networks, which typically rely on a single sequencer operator to order transactions. Like other layer-2 networks, it builds on top of Ethereum, applying zero-knowledge proof technology so transactions can be executed privately.

Security hardening

The Tierra release resolves known vulnerabilities from earlier versions, including a critical issue discovered in V5, and adds extensive hardening. That includes a new AI-powered security testing harness and formal verification of core cryptographic components—a mathematical process for proving that code behaves as intended. The step reflects a broader scramble across the crypto industry to harden code as AI tools make vulnerabilities easier to find. The patched software is also the version now running the network’s new crop of applications, meaning early users of those apps start on the fixed code.

Faster proofs and deposits

On the performance side, Aztec said private transactions now generate client-side proofs in about one second on a standard device—twice as fast as before—while a new architecture cuts Ethereum-to-Aztec message delivery from an average of two minutes to as little as 12 seconds, speeding up deposits and cross-chain activity. Because those proofs are produced client-side, the work of shielding each transaction happens on the user’s own hardware rather than a remote server, keeping transaction details out of third-party hands by design.

“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.”

A wave of private apps

The upgrade arrives alongside a crop of private applications spanning payments, trading, AI, and social. Leading the group is zk.money, a private payments and savings app built by Aztec Labs that the team revived this year, bringing back the product that first introduced Aztec’s private-transaction technology to Ethereum users. With Tierra’s faster messaging, users can deposit directly from any Ethereum wallet without complex bridging.

Also in the lineup are 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 own Aztec experiments.

A broader privacy push

The launch lands amid a renewed push for privacy on Ethereum. Buterin has laid out plans for a “cryptographic world computer” and pressed to slash the cost of quantum-safe privacy, while a separate team spun out a for-profit firm to drive institutional privacy adoption.

Aztec, which raised $17 million in an earlier funding round to build out its network, is betting that privacy becomes a default feature of Ethereum rather than an add-on. The alpha designation attached to Tierra marks the software as early in its release cycle, making subsequent security iterations and the early uptake of the new private apps the near-term milestones to watch.