Aztec leans into open source security.
As we approach the launch of Aztec Connect, we’re excited to announce the release of Aztec Connect’s codebase — and rewards totaling $2 million+ via the Aztec Bug Bounty.
At Aztec we believe in a security-first approach. That’s why, in addition to third-party audits from Solidified and Sentnl, we are partnering with ImmuneFi to support bug bounties for disclosure of critical vulnerabilities — up to $1 million each for smart contract and cryptography bugs.
Effective immediately, white hat developers can report bugs found in the Aztec Connect repository.
Program Overview
Aztec Network enables private transactions on public blockchains, working with protocols like Element and Lido to facilitate cheap, private DeFi transactions.
As a key part of an interconnected ecosystem, Aztec is doubling down on its approach to open source software development. We continue to be amazed by the community of smart contract and zero-knowledge researchers — and it is our belief that the state of the art will continue to be advanced and secured by these individuals.
We have also conducted a round of internal audits, and an external smart contract audit has been completed in conjunction with Solidified.
Bug Bounty Approach
Like our peers in the zero-knowledge space, Aztec has yet to find a cryptography audit firm with the requisite understanding of building complex cryptographic systems. At this point, we believe an audit would be confusing and misleading to our community.
Following in the footsteps of protocols before us, we believe increasing the visibility of our code base to our global community of collaborators, limiting deposits for a period of time, and incentivizing white-hats to test our system is the most effective way to expose any vulnerabilities which could exist.
Aztec Connect
Aztec Connect is a leap forward for blockchain privacy. The prior version of Aztec was two custom zk-circuits encompassing private account creation (the account circuit) and private transfers (the join-split circuit).
Aztec Connect adds two more circuits, enabling significantly more powerful functionality: the ability to withdraw and deposit funds privately to any Layer 1 Ethereum contract. We call these simply the DeFi circuits.
The DeFi circuit, paired with a set of Aztec rollup smart contracts deployed to Layer 1 Ethereum, collectively comprise the Aztec Connect backend — the infrastructure empowering anyone to do DeFi privately.
We are excited to reveal the ambitions of Aztec Connect to the world, and we welcome the robust community of zero-knowledge and smart contract developers in securing our network for millions of users to come.
About Aztec
Aztec is a privacy-first zkRollup enabling fast, private computation on a decentralized network. At Aztec we believe privacy isn’t just a fundamental right, but a creative force for crypto.
Our goal is to unleash the full potential of decentralized technologies by building an open, privacy-first network with no compromises.
We were founded in 2017 and raised a Series A led by Paradigm in 2021.
Build with Aztec Connect SDK
Are you a developer who wants to bring privacy to your favorite DeFi protocol? If you build it, we’ll fund it.
Aztec Grants Program: https://airtable.com/shrvglCZ24jaH73oe
Connect Starter: https://github.com/AztecProtocol/aztec-connect-starter.
Help make privacy a no-brainer.
Join the Aztec Community
We’re always on the lookout for talented engineers and applied cryptographers. If joining our mission to bring scalable privacy to Ethereum excites you — check out our open roles.
And continue the conversation with us on Discord or Twitter.
