Aztec Labs Relaunches zk.money Wallet for Private Ethereum-Linked Payments

What to Know

• Aztec Labs is relaunching zk.money, a self-custodial wallet focused on private payments connected to Ethereum.
• The wallet conceals payment amounts, balances and recipients once funds are inside the Aztec Network.
• Users can deposit DAI, USDC or USDT from Ethereum, but USDC and USDT are converted into DAI on the way in.
• Deposits from Ethereum remain publicly traceable, even though later activity inside zk.money is designed to be private.
• Users can send payments through readable names such as bob.zk.money or through payment links.
• The early Alpha release caps each deposit, payment and withdrawal below $2,500.
• All users share a $50,000 daily deposit allowance that replenishes over time.
• The wallet screens Ethereum addresses used for deposits and withdrawals under a sanctions policy.
• Aztec’s documentation warns that the software has not been fully audited and that critical bugs are possible.
• The original zk.money launched in 2021, closed in 2024, served more than 75,000 wallets and processed over $100 million before shutdown.

zk.money Returns as Ethereum Privacy Demand Grows

Aztec Labs is bringing zk.money back to market, giving Ethereum users another option for making private payments without handing custody of funds to a third party. The relaunched wallet is built around the Aztec Network and is designed to hide payment amounts, balances and recipients after funds enter the system. For users accustomed to Ethereum’s transparent transaction model, the return of zk.money represents a notable addition to the privacy tooling available across the broader ecosystem.

Ethereum’s public ledger allows anyone with a wallet address to inspect balances and review historical transactions. That transparency is useful for verification and auditability, but it can also reveal sensitive financial behavior. A business wallet can expose supplier payments, treasury movements or client flows. An individual wallet can reveal spending patterns, recurring transfers and links to other addresses. zk.money attempts to reduce that visibility by moving subsequent activity onto the Aztec Network, where the wallet is intended to conceal key payment details.

The relaunch arrives after a long absence. The original zk.money launched in 2021 and closed in 2024. Before shutting down, Aztec Labs says it served more than 75,000 wallets and processed over $100 million. Its return comes as privacy remains one of the most debated subjects in Ethereum, balancing user confidentiality, regulatory expectations, network security and the practical challenges of building complex cryptographic systems.

How the Relaunched Wallet Works

The new zk.money allows users to deposit dollar-pegged stablecoins from Ethereum. Supported deposits include DAI, USDC and USDT, though USDC and USDT are converted into DAI when entering the system. As a result, DAI is the only currency used inside zk.money at launch. Aztec Labs has framed DAI as its preferred asset for the initial rollout because it views DAI as the most decentralized of the mass-market stablecoins used today on Ethereum. The wallet could support additional assets later, but any such expansion remains a future possibility rather than a live feature.

Once funds are inside zk.money, users can send money in a more human-readable way than standard Ethereum transfers. Instead of copying and pasting a long hexadecimal wallet address, a user can send a payment to a readable name such as bob.zk.money. Users can also request payments by sharing a payment link. That design aims to make private payments more accessible while reducing common usability frictions that remain common across crypto wallets.

Aztec Labs says the wallet is self-custodial. In practice, that means users retain control of their funds, and the wallet operators cannot independently spend or freeze assets held in the wallet. That custody model is important for crypto users who want privacy without giving up the core ownership principles associated with onchain assets. However, self-custody also places responsibility on users to understand risks, manage access carefully and recognize that early-stage software can carry operational and technical hazards.

What zk.money Can Hide and What It Cannot

The key privacy protection begins after funds are inside the Aztec Network. At that point, zk.money is designed to hide balances, payment amounts and the parties involved in transfers. This can make internal activity difficult to trace from the public Ethereum ledger, providing more confidentiality than ordinary Ethereum transfers.

However, the system does not make the entire lifecycle invisible. Moving funds into zk.money still leaves a public trace on Ethereum. Aztec’s documentation says a deposit from Ethereum reveals the sender and the amount, even if the recipient on Aztec can remain private. That means users should not assume that entering the system erases all public information. The deposit event remains visible, and observers may still know that a specific Ethereum address moved a specific amount into the privacy system.

Withdrawals also interact with Ethereum and are subject to the wallet’s controls and screening procedures. The privacy model therefore has a boundary: activity inside zk.money is designed to be private, while entry and exit points connected to Ethereum retain visible or policy-sensitive elements. For many users, that may still represent a meaningful improvement over fully public payment histories, but it is not the same as total anonymity across every step.

Alpha Limits and Fee Structure

The relaunch is an early Alpha release and includes strict limits. Each deposit, payment and withdrawal must be below $2,500. In addition, all users share a $50,000 daily deposit allowance, which replenishes over time. Aztec’s documentation describes these limits as safeguards while the system is new. Raising them would require a new contract, meaning higher limits are not simply a settings change within the current release.

Joe Andrews, CEO of Aztec Labs, has said the limits are in place because the system is new and uses experimental cryptography. He has also indicated that Aztec Labs plans to raise limits as confidence grows and after a later version goes live. That language keeps the rollout firmly in cautious territory. Market participants evaluating zk.money should view the caps as a signal that the product is not yet positioned as a high-throughput payment rail for large transfers.

The cost structure is also defined for entry and exit. A deposit costs 35 cents plus Ethereum fees, while a withdrawal costs 20 cents. Inside zk.money, users get 100 sponsored transactions a day. However, payments may have to wait if the contract covering network fees runs out of funds or cannot cover the prevailing fee. That means the user experience may depend not only on the wallet interface, but also on the availability of sponsored fee coverage at the time a payment is attempted.

Compliance Controls and Security Caveats

The relaunched zk.money includes compliance-related screening. Ethereum addresses used for deposits and withdrawals are checked against a sanctions policy. The wallet also uses a sealed server that co-signs operations inside zk.money. According to Aztec’s documentation, that server cannot spend user funds on its own. This structure is intended to support the system’s operating controls while preserving user custody.

Security remains the major caveat. Aztec’s documentation warns that the network is still in its early Alpha phase, that the software has not been fully audited and that critical bugs are possible. For a wallet built around advanced cryptography, that warning is significant. Privacy systems often rely on complex proof mechanisms, and small errors in implementation can have serious consequences.

Contributors disclosed a critical flaw in the V5 proof system in August and said a fix was planned for V6. The zk.money release does not specify what safeguards apply to the relaunched wallet following that finding. Andrews has said zk.money will launch before the flaw is fixed. He has also said a separate system called Oxide will check payments for errors caused by bugs in the network’s software, and that users will be able to move to the updated network once the fix is ready.

That combination places zk.money in a category familiar to early crypto infrastructure: promising in design, limited in scale and explicitly risky in its initial form. Technical traders, privacy advocates and crypto users may see the relaunch as an important development, but the Alpha label and audit warnings are central to understanding the product’s current status.

Why This Matters for Ethereum Users

Ethereum’s transparency has long been both a strength and a weakness. Public data allows users, developers and analysts to verify activity across the network. At the same time, that visibility can create privacy problems for normal payments. A person paying from an ordinary Ethereum wallet may unintentionally reveal a broader financial history. A company using a public wallet may expose commercial relationships or operational flows.

zk.money is part of a wider effort to make Ethereum-linked payments more private while keeping users connected to onchain assets. The wallet does not eliminate all visibility, and it does not remove all trust and security concerns. Still, by hiding activity after funds enter the Aztec Network, it gives users another tool for reducing the amount of financial information they broadcast publicly.

Ethereum developers are also considering broader privacy-related improvements for a planned 2027 Hegotá upgrade. Those proposals could allow privacy apps to handle transaction approvals and fees with less dependence on outside services. The proposals remain under consideration, while zk.money is returning as a usable wallet on Aztec’s own network. That makes the relaunch a practical step in the near term, even as the wider Ethereum roadmap continues to debate how privacy should be integrated at the protocol and application layers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is zk.money?

zk.money is a self-custodial wallet from Aztec Labs that allows users to make private payments on the Aztec Network while connecting to Ethereum for deposits and withdrawals.

What does zk.money hide?

Once funds are inside zk.money, the wallet is designed to hide balances, payment amounts and recipients. Deposits from Ethereum still reveal the sender and amount publicly.

Which assets can users deposit?

Users can deposit DAI, USDC or USDT from Ethereum. USDC and USDT are converted into DAI on the way in, leaving DAI as the only currency used inside zk.money at launch.

Are zk.money deposits fully private?

No. A deposit from Ethereum remains publicly traceable and reveals the sender and the amount, even though the recipient on Aztec can remain private and later activity is designed to be hidden.

What are the limits in the Alpha release?

Each deposit, payment and withdrawal must be below $2,500. All users also share a $50,000 daily deposit allowance that replenishes over time.

How much does it cost to use zk.money?

A deposit costs 35 cents plus Ethereum fees, and a withdrawal costs 20 cents. Users receive 100 sponsored transactions a day inside zk.money, subject to fee coverage availability.

Is zk.money custodial?

No. Aztec Labs says zk.money is self-custodial, meaning the operators cannot spend or freeze user funds held in the wallet on their own.

Does zk.money screen addresses?

Yes. Ethereum addresses used for deposits and withdrawals are screened under a sanctions policy, even though the wallet is designed to keep internal payment activity private.

What are the main risks?

The main risks are tied to the early Alpha status, incomplete audits and possible critical bugs. A critical flaw in the V5 proof system was disclosed in August, with a fix planned for V6.