Aztec Announces V6 Approval While Governance Dashboard Still Shows Voting Open

Aztec said on Oct. 22 that tokenholders approved its Alpha V6 upgrade and that the network had entered an execution delay. However, the governance dashboard linked by Aztec still showed the proposal as active, with voting scheduled to end Oct. 24 and execution available Oct. 26.

The upgrade would move the privacy-focused Ethereum Layer 2 to a new rollup, speeding messages from Ethereum and changing rewards for network operators. For users and developers, the transition also brings a migration: application contracts must be recompiled, their addresses change, and the proposal funds continued V5 operation for about 30 days.

The timing discrepancy matters because approval does not itself activate the new network. The governance dashboard displayed 100% support among votes cast, but still placed the proposal in its voting phase. Aztec’s announcement said, “The network now enters an execution delay,” and told users to await an official launch date.

Aztec’s network documentation lists a two-day mainnet execution delay. The upgrade specification adds another constraint: execution is permitted only on UK weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. London time, and only while V5 remains the canonical rollup. The dashboard’s Oct. 26 execution date is therefore not an announced launch appointment.

Faster Messages, a New Migration

V6 follows the V5 mainnet release covered by The Defiant in July, which focused on faster private proving and lower transaction costs.

According to the V6 specification, Ethereum-to-Aztec messages currently wait for an inbox tree to close and then a two-checkpoint lag, taking 24 to 108 seconds. V6 would stream those messages into blocks as nodes observe them on Ethereum, targeting about 12 to 30 seconds for deposit, bridge and portal flows.

The proposal also shifts the sequencer share of the 500 $AZTEC checkpoint reward from 70% to 90%, while leaving total emissions per checkpoint unchanged. The prover reward pool falls from 150 to 50 $AZTEC per checkpoint; fee-based prover revenue is unchanged. Staking providers gain the ability to exit positions they operate, with payouts still going to delegators.

Governance would gain a configurable protocol fee margin, initially set to zero, and the ability to install a separate sequencer reward calculator through a later proposal. Operators must run V6 software, while stake configured to follow the latest rollup moves to V6 at execution.

To support users still migrating, the payload reserves 1.8 million $AZTEC for V5 and cuts its checkpoint reward from 500 to 50 $AZTEC. At the specification’s assumed 1,200 checkpoints a day, that allocation funds about 30 days of continued sequencing and proving after V6 becomes canonical.