The Three-Year Wait is Over for Ethereum, the Privacy Wallet is Back! Here Are the Details

Aztec Labs has relaunched the zk.money wallet, which can hide the recipient, amount, and balance of transactions. However, there are significant usage limitations in the early version.

Aztec Labs is relaunching its privacy-focused zk.money wallet, which was shut down in 2024, after nearly three years. The wallet, which uses a custody model, allows stablecoins transferred from Ethereum to be sent privately on the Aztec Network.

Users will be able to deposit $DAI, $USDC, or $USDT into the system. However, $USDC and $USDT deposits will be converted to $DAI upon login, and payments within zk.money will be processed in $DAI. After switching to the Aztec network, the amount sent, the recipient’s identity, and the user balance will not be publicly visible.

Users wishing to make payments will be able to use readable usernames or payment links instead of long wallet addresses. However, the initial deposit from Ethereum to the zk.money system is not entirely private. The user’s Ethereum address and the amount deposited will be traceable on the public chain. Privacy will only apply to activities after the asset enters the Aztec network.

In the early Alpha version, all deposits, payments, and withdrawals will be kept below $2,500. The common daily deposit limit for all users will be $50,000. Aztec Labs stated that they plan to raise these limits as the system matures and trust levels increase.

Deposits will incur a 35-cent fee in addition to the Ethereum network fee, while withdrawals will cost 20 cents. Users will be allowed 100 sponsored transactions per day on the network. Addresses used for Ethereum deposits and withdrawals will also be checked against sanctions lists.

Aztec documentation explicitly warns that the software has not yet been fully reviewed and may contain critical vulnerabilities. A critical flaw was identified in the network’s V5 proof-of-work system in August, and it was stated that a fix would be included in version V6. The fact that zk.money will launch before this fix poses a technical risk for early users.

The previous version of zk.money served over 75,000 wallets and processed over $100 million in transactions before it shut down.

*This is not investment advice.