A New Brand for Aztec

It’s clear to most in the industry that a successful vision for the future, no matter the network or app, must include privacy. But privacy can mean a lot of things, and often comes with backdoors, centralized control, or limited functionality. 

So I want to be clear about what makes Aztec unique right up front: 

• Unstoppable: Aztec is the only decentralized L2 on Ethereum. The network is run by a permissionless set of 3,000+ sequencers. It can’t be stopped or shut down. 
• Private without backdoors: Aztec is the only privacy platform without a backdoor. No master viewing keys, no special abilities for operators to view your txns, no trusted hardware. Simply private. 
• Private smart contracts: Aztec is a generalized platform for building private apps. Smart contracts on Aztec have both private and public state, everything is taken care of on how they execute under the hood. Permissionless, composable, private. 

The Aztec brand needs to reflect the reality that the above ingredients are an extremely powerful combination of factors that unlock entire industries. An unstoppable force of nature. 

The platform for unstoppable private apps 

For anyone that’s been in the industry for a while, it’s clear that the vision for where we thought we would be has not played out. Most activity and value is focused on centralized, public stablecoins. Onchain apps have gone through phases, but many have not taken off and we certainly don’t live in an entirely onchain world. 

The underlying reason for this failure has been a lack of privacy. A platform for unstoppable private apps means that we can finally build valuable apps onchain: 

• Institutions can move trillions of dollars into a global, neutral network without revealing customer information or company strategies and positions. 
• Stablecoins or stocks can be issued and traded privately to move value without leaking all of your activity.
• Users can interact with the global economy without revealing their identity to the world, just like they currently do with Web2 (but without the Web2 backdoors). 
• Social organizing and interaction can be moved to decentralized systems, for example the RollingChat private message board, an extension of Vitalik’s experiments on Aztec. 

The bottom line is that we are going to see tremendous value and functionality come onchain, unlocked by private, composable smart contracts. Anyone can build without asking for permission, seamlessly blending private and public state, in full compliance with local regulations. 

A visual identity built for the position

The new brand must clearly convey the power of the platform for unstoppable private apps. Every visual decision in the new identity was tested against the same question: does this look like the platform that serious builders choose when the stakes are high? The system is more refined, more assured, and more clearly ours than anything we've shipped before.

The logo

The new Aztec logo reflects the maturity and simplicity of the platform. We expect Aztec to be integrated across chains, across Web2 and Web3 projects, anywhere where privacy is needed. The logo is dramatically simplified to reflect this vision and work with a versatile set of applications.

Colors

The new pallet utilizes dramatically simplified colors to convey the clear and focused mission. If you want to build or use unstoppable private apps with no backdoors, Aztec is the place. We are not a maximalist brand, we are here to be a stable foundation. The colors are more natural and simple but still allow us to stand out visually when we need to. 

Imagery

An unstoppable network needs unstoppable imagery. And what better inspiration than the power of nature. The imagery utilizes an acid-washed effect, drawing out the dramatic power of the natural world. The imagery also leans into the interplay between private and public. 

All of the brand assets can be found on the brand page of the new website. 

Why now: Aztec Tierra

We didn't change the brand because we wanted a new look. We changed it because the network is finally in a place where we’re ready to scale and drive significant value. This is a major turning point that needs to be reflected in how we talk about ourselves and how our identity is conveyed. 

Yesterday we announced Aztec Tierra (Alpha V6), the most significant upgrade to the network to date. Tierra resolves the vulnerabilities identified in earlier versions and hardens the protocol with an AI-powered security testing harness and formal verification of core cryptographic components. It makes private transactions faster, with one-second client-side proofs on a native device, a 2x speedup over the previous network. And it cuts Ethereum-to-Aztec message delivery from an average of two minutes to as low as 12 seconds, so depositing from any Ethereum wallet into a private app no longer feels like a bridging chore.

Unstoppable apps need unstoppable infrastructure. Tierra is that infrastructure: a stronger, more secure foundation for applications that no single company or institution can control. 

Read the full Aztec Tierra announcement for the technical detail.

A new home at aztec.network

The new brand lives at the new aztec.network, live today. The site is built to clearly convey the new vision and the powerful technology that underpins the platform. 

Freedom by design

The future of private applications won't be a collection of privacy solutions launched and controlled by centralized networks. It will be built on composable, programmable smart contracts on a permissionless, open network. 

Unstoppable.

No backdoors. 

Private smart contracts. 

This is the power to move unseen and to build apps that will change how we move around the digital world.