Aztec Protocol

Founded in 2017 by Zac Williamson, Tom Walton-Pocock, Joe Andrews, and Arnaud Schenk, Aztec's journey began with the realization that mainstream adoption of blockchain technology, particularly by institutions, was hindered by the lack of privacy. Williamson, who has a background in particle physics and now serves as CEO, co-invented PLONK in 2019, a universal zk-SNARK proving system that became a foundational technology for Aztec and the broader zero-knowledge space. The team's initial product, zk.money, demonstrated the demand for on-chain privacy by facilitating private transfers. This was followed by Aztec Connect, a private bridge that allowed users to interact with Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem confidentially. In 2023, Aztec sunsetted these products to focus on building its comprehensive encrypted blockchain.

Aztec's architecture is built around a hybrid state model that supports both private and public functions within the same application. Private computations are executed on the user's device in a Private Execution Environment (PXE), ensuring sensitive data never leaves their control. Public functions are handled by the Aztec Virtual Machine (AVM). To facilitate development, Aztec created Noir, a domain-specific language that simplifies the process of writing private smart contracts. The network is secured through a decentralized proof-of-stake system where sequencers and provers validate transactions and produce blocks. The native utility token, $AZTEC, is used for staking, governance, and paying network fees. The company has secured significant funding, including a $17 million Series A round in 2021 and a $100 million Series B round in 2022 led by a16z crypto, with participation from other notable investors like Paradigm and Vitalik Buterin.