# Aztec: zkRollup Layer 2 + Privacy > Today we’re proud to announce Aztec 2.0, a scaling solution with privacy at its core, blending efficiency and security in blockchain transactions. Canonical: https://aztec.network/blog/aztec-zkrollup-layer-2-privacy Type: Article Reviewed: 19 October 2026 Publisher: Aztec Foundation Author: Joe Andrews Published: 12 October 2020 Category: Aztec Network > **Historical article.** This post describes Aztec 2.0 / zk.money, which has been sunset and is no longer live. For today's Aztec Network, see https://aztec.network/basics *TL;DR : We’re scaling Ethereum* Today we’re proud to announce Aztec 2.0, the Layer 2 Network — a scaling solution, with privacy at its core: - **zkRollup based Layer 2**network, live on Ropsten - **Private sends** by default — shield and send your ERC-20s privately - **Social-key recovery** baked in - **Scalable private access to DeFi**(Uniswap, etc.) - **200x gas reduction**compared to Aztec 1.0 - **Secure by design**: all transactions are validated on-chain - **Programmable Privacy with Noir —**The private contract language These features implement the output of our world-class research team, who delivered [PLONK](/research) and [Plookup](/research) to the community over the past 15 months, and which are now the major standard in zkSNARKs. ## Get Started Now Engineers can dive in straight away: - **Documentation:**[http://developers.aztec.network/](https://developers.aztec.network/) To see our network live on Ropsten or play around with our command line rollup service, these are the links: - **Block Explorer:**[https://explorer.aztec.network/](https://explorer.aztec.network/) - **Terminal Demo:**[https://terminal.aztec.network/](https://terminal.aztec.network/) ## Fast Privacy, Now The classical Layer 2 architecture offers scalability today, and waits to address privacy later. Aztec is different. Our PLONK research allows us to use zkSNARKs in two very different ways: 1. Each transaction is encoded as a zkSNARK, protecting user data 2. These transactions are then batched by relayers using a further ‘rollup’ zkSNARK — this single rollup proof is then sent to Ethereum, scaling the network Using this technique, the network can scale on-demand up to **a hard limit of ~300 TX/S**, while preserving on-chain data availability. ## Cross-Asset Scaling As a rule, rollups aggregate transactions that are ‘homogeneous’ — i.e. they’re of the same type. Because Aztec transactions are ***all***zkSNARK proofs, they can all be bundled into one zkRollup. Concretely, **private DeFi transactions can be bundled alongside zkDAI spends or Uniswap trades, all in one roll-up** ## Noir Language: Private Smart Contracts Introducing Noir — an open source scripting language that allows developers to easily write zkSNARK transactions compatible with Aztec 2.0. ![Sha256 Noir Circuit](/api/media/file/blog-2c6a48b502-1-impnft-jdbburzse4olfg-1002x570.webp) [Noir](/aztec-nr) gives developers the tools to write custom logic for mainnet protocols, from DeFi to capital markets and order-books. Noir gives engineers the keys to: - Custom private transactions - Signatures over any curve - Ethereum contract calls from circuits - Aztec Standard Library — efficient audited versions of common cryptographic primitives ## Accounts with Social Recovery ![The Aztec account architecture](/api/media/file/blog-e6d2179856-1nbwm8zyoh8gvr7cxnz-jra-1024x331.webp) User accounts can be created **with or without a linked Ethereum address, and don’t need an initial on-chain transaction** to receive funds. Human readable aliases are built in — so now, you can be **@MontezumaII**, and not **0x48af9…** The headlines: - Accounts support **multiple keys** - **Social recovery** is baked in - **Spending keys** are divorced from encryption keys — this helps regulated apps keep neat, KYC-compliant records ## Gas Costs Slashed Aztec 2.0 slashes Aztec 1.0 gas costs by 200x. ![](/api/media/file/blog-8102d988c4-1qzc7rwv2dkwkoctpzz5fba-1024x536.webp) ## What You Can Do on Aztec Today? - **Deposit:** Shield your tokens by depositing them in Aztec - **Private Payments:** Encrypted balances & identities — for all tokens - **Multi-Device Recovery:**Your assets are protected from lost keys - **Withdraw:** Take your tokens anonymously back to Layer 1 - **Escape Hatch:** Even if all rollup providers go down, your exit’s guaranteed All these features are provided with our [Developer SDK](https://developers.aztec.network/). ![Scalable Private Transactions](/api/media/file/blog-961e876b03-147andputi4zr3dz9fpsmig-1024x289.webp) ## Next Step: DeFi In November, the network will be upgraded to support scalable private access to DeFi. This upgrade allow users to anonymously access DeFi transactions at a fraction of the gas price.**And,** ***without*having to port DeFi protocols to layer 2.** ### Worked Example: Uniswap on Aztec Network Let’s take a look at how DeFi works on Aztec 2.0: 1. A user **sends a portion of their Dai** balance to swap for ETH on Uniswap 2. The **rollup bundles** 100's of these transactions together into one trade 3. The **Aztec contract receives ETH** on behalf of these users 4. The **ETH is owned pro-rata** by the participants in the pool 5. Each participant benefits from a large anonymity set and **pays a fraction of the gas** for the investment Most DeFi protocols can be integrated in this manner and importantly using existing audited L1 code. ## Show me the code! Starting today, developers can access the [Aztec network](/) via our TypeScript SDK. Simply run the following command to get going. yarn add @aztec/sdk The SDK runs in web, mobile and server environments. For detailed examples follow the link to the [**live docs.**](https://developers.aztec.network/) ## Keep Updated for 2020 Mainnet Launch We’ll soon be deploying to mainnet and announcing our bug bounty — stay up to date with the latest news by following us: - [Telegram](https://t.me/aztecprotocol) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/aztecnetwork) Join the team We’re on the lookout for talented engineers and applied cryptographers. If joining our mission to bring scalable privacy to Ethereum excites you — get in touch with us at [hello@aztecprotocol.com](mailto:hello@aztecprotocol.com). --- Markdown representation of https://aztec.network/blog/aztec-zkrollup-layer-2-privacy. Published by Aztec Foundation.