Privacy-focused blockchain platform Aztec is preparing to shut down Aztec Connect, which serves as the encryption layer for Ethereum.
Aztec Network officially announced on March 17 that Aztec Connect will be shut down, with plans to disable Aztec Connect deposits from frontends like zkmoney and zkpayfinance. According to a blog post by Aztec, users will be able to withdraw their funds from Aztec Connect at no cost. “While withdrawals are always possible, it will become significantly more burdensome after March 21, 2024,” the post said. The platform advised its users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible. In the shared post, it was also reported that Aztec Connect has reached more than 100,000 users since its launch in July 2022.
All Rollup Functionality Will Be Discontinued
Aztec will no longer run a sequencer from March 2024. So the current system will no longer issue rollup blocks that handle Aztec Connect transactions. The announcement states that contract permissions will be waived and all rollup functionality will be discontinued.
As Aztec open-sources the entire Aztec Connect protocol, the firm encourages the Aztec community to fork, deploy, and operate a new version of the system. In the statement made by the project: “We would like to see an independently operated Aztec Connect and we are ready to finance it” expressions were used.
The project emphasized that the research with Aztec Connect will be usable and critical to the development of a next-generation blockchain, providing the basis for a fully programmable version of encrypted rollups, adding: “It is undeniable that Aztec Connect is an important step towards achieving our ultimate goal. Now is the time to focus entirely on that goal: a decentralized public-use encrypted blockchain.”
After the project shuts down Aztec Connect, it plans to focus on the development of the universal zero-knowledge language known as Noir and the next-generation encrypted blockchain.
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