Aztec Relaunches zk.money for Private Ethereum Payments
In this article
Aztec Labs relaunched zk.money on September 29, 2026, reviving a self-custodial wallet that lets users send private stablecoin payments on its privacy-first Ethereum layer-2 network, according to Decrypt. The original zk.money, launched in 2021, drew more than 75,000 wallets and $100 million in volume before the team shelved it three years ago to build Aztec Network.
Users claim a tag like bob.zk.money that resolves through the Ethereum Name Service to a deposit address. Payments made between two people inside the wallet do not broadcast balances, amounts, or recipients to the public ledger, though Aztec notes that deposits from Ethereum are still public.
The old product, brought back on new rails
The first zk.money arrived in 2021, the same year Aztec raised $17 million in a Paradigm-led round, and later expanded through Aztec Connect, a toolkit for wiring its privacy tech into DeFi protocols. Aztec discontinued the wallet in 2023 and moved its engineers to building Aztec Network.
CEO Joe Andrews addressed the reason for the shutdown. PANews, citing The Block, reported that Andrews said the product was not discontinued due to a lack of market demand; rather, the earlier system was difficult to scale and could not achieve global-scale adoption.
The accounts differ slightly in how they frame the gap. Decrypt frames the relaunch as a return “from the dead” three years after the plug was pulled. PANews, citing The Block, frames it as a rebuild on the company’s own network after the original could not reach global scale. Both reports agree on the core figures: 75,000-plus wallets, $100 million in volume, and a 2023 discontinuation.
In a statement carried by Decrypt, Andrews pushed back on the idea that payments should expose personal finances. “Onchain transactions between two individuals shouldn’t mean publishing your financial history to the world,” he said.
How the privacy actually works
Private functions run on the user’s own device, which generates zero-knowledge proofs. These are cryptographic receipts that confirm a transaction is valid without revealing its details. Because the wallet is self-custodial, Aztec says it cannot spend or freeze user funds, and no privileged administrator controls it.
The privacy has boundaries worth understanding before use. Deposits arriving from Ethereum stay public, and the early rollout applies transaction and deposit caps to limit exposure in the first phase. That split matters for anyone weighing whether the wallet fits their needs: it hides activity between users inside zk.money, not the movement of funds into it.
Why it matters
Privacy has climbed Ethereum’s agenda in recent months. Developers are weighing proposals for next year’s Hegotá upgrade that would let privacy pools pay their own transaction fees without intermediaries. In a post over the weekend, co-founder Vitalik Buterin said special-purpose apps could achieve “very strong privacy” through zero-knowledge proofs as part of his “cryptographic world computer” vision.
For everyday stablecoin users, the relaunch offers a route to move USDC, USDT, or DAI without publishing amounts or counterparties on a public ledger. The trade-offs are real: deposits stay visible, and the caps mean the wallet is not yet built for large transfers during its early phase.
What to watch
The immediate markers are whether Aztec lifts the $2,500 per-transaction and $50,000 daily deposit limits as usage grows, and how the Hegotá upgrade proposals for privacy-pool fee payments advance next year. Both will shape how much of Ethereum’s stablecoin activity can move through private rails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is zk.money and who runs it?
zk.money is a self-custodial wallet operated by Aztec Labs that supports private crypto payments. It runs on Aztec Network, the company’s privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2, and was relaunched on September 29, 2026.
Why did Aztec shut down zk.money the first time?
Aztec Labs said the original system was difficult to scale and could not reach global adoption. CEO Joe Andrews said the shutdown in 2023 was not due to a lack of market demand, and the team shifted focus to building Aztec Network.
Are payments on the new zk.money fully private?
No. Payments made inside zk.money are hidden, but deposits from Ethereum remain public, according to Aztec. Transactions are also capped at $2,500 each during the early rollout.
What assets and limits apply during the rollout?
Users can send USDC, USDT, or DAI from an exchange or Ethereum wallet. Each transaction is limited to $2,500, and all users share a $50,000 daily deposit ceiling.
How does the original zk.money compare to the relaunch?
The 2021 version drew more than 75,000 wallets and $100 million in volume before being shelved in 2023. The new version runs on Aztec’s own decentralized network rather than the earlier system the company said was hard to scale.
