Aztec

Aztec is the first decentralized, privacy-preserving Layer 2 blockchain on Ethereum. The network enables developers to write smart contracts with programmable privacy using Noir, a Rust-like domain-specific language, allowing builders to code privacy at user, data, metadata, transaction, and code levels. Aztec uses client-side proofs, generating cryptographic proofs on the user's own device so that no operator, sequencer, or intermediary can see the underlying data. The platform features composable privacy across chains, day-one decentralization with hardcoded sequencing, proving, and governance, and achieves approximately 2.5-second fully private transactions on consumer hardware. With Alpha V5, Aztec reduces private transaction proving times by over 2x and costs to under $0.05 per transaction. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Aztec has raised $119.1 million in Series B funding from investors including Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, Consensys, and SV Angel.