A validity rollup on Ethereum
Aztec vs
Starknet
Starknet executes general-purpose contracts publicly; its STRK20 privacy pool gives a designated company access to viewing keys. Aztec lets applications define private and public logic without a network-wide viewing key.
| Questions | Starknet | Aztec |
|---|---|---|
Permissioned sequencing StarkWare runs all of Starknet's sequencers, so the company can halt the network, and has: on 5 January 2026 it paused block production for more than four hours and dropped 18 minutes of activity. L2BEAT lists permissioned sequencing and Stage 1 maturity, with an emergency upgrade path that has no exit window. | No one can stop it Permissionless sequencers and provers run the network. Upgrades follow public governance rules with a timelock. L2BEAT assesses the rollup at Stage 2. | |
Audit key held by a company STRK20 viewing keys are encrypted to a master key in trusted enclaves, with multisig backups: a designated party can read shielded activity on request. | No backdoor Private functions execute on the user's device and the network verifies a proof. There is no network-wide decryption key, no validator that re-executes private inputs, and no co-signer. Public calls and their inputs are visible by design. | |
Public contracts, private pool Cairo contracts execute publicly. STRK20 adds a privacy pool with its own disclosure model, not private contract logic. | Private + public contracts Noir contracts combine private state and functions with public ones, and anyone can deploy them. Contracts compose on Aztec and reach Ethereum through L1/L2 messaging. | |
Permissionless to use Contract deployment is open; sequencing remains permissioned. | Permissionless to use, build, and operate Anyone can deploy contracts or participate as a sequencer or prover under the published protocol, staking, and hardware requirements. | |
A compliance layer built into STRK20: viewing keys are escrowed with an audit-key operator, which supports scoped disclosure for lawful requests. | Selective disclosure at the application and user level. An application decides which facts it proves or publishes, and a user can share their own viewing keys with whoever they choose. No protocol-wide audit key, screening gate, or operator sits in the path of a transaction. |
What Starknet does well.
General-purpose Cairo contracts and STARK-based scaling on Ethereum, with STRK20 supporting scoped disclosure for lawful requests.
The difference. For STRK20, disclosure runs through a designated audit-key operator and there are no smart contracts with private logic. On Aztec, the application defines disclosure without a protocol-wide audit key and the platform supports smart contracts with private logic.
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