Aztec Labs relaunches zk.money privacy wallet with a $2,500 cap on every transfer
Aztec Labs relaunched its zk.money privacy wallet on Aztec Network, capping every deposit, payment and withdrawal below $2,500 while keeping in-wallet transfers off Ethereum's public ledger.
Why it matters
The relaunch restores a privacy route for stablecoin payments on an Ethereum rollup at a moment when Aztec Labs still owes users a fix for a proving-system flaw, and the $2,500 ceiling plus one shared $50,000 daily pool keep early usage small. Only Unchained reported the outstanding flaw; CoinDesk instead flagged that the code has not been fully audited, so the risk picture differs by source.
Key facts
Aztec Labs relaunched the self-custodial wallet zk.money on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, three years after retiring it.
Reported by CoinDesk
Every deposit, payment and withdrawal through zk.money must stay below $2,500 during the early rollout.
2,500 USDReported by CoinDesk
The original zk.money served more than 75,000 unique wallets and processed $100 million in volume.
100,000,000 USDReported by Crypto.News
Transfers between zk.money users are kept off the public ledger, but deposits into and withdrawals from the wallet remain publicly traceable on Ethereum.
Reported by CoinDesk
zk.money holds only DAI, so USDC and USDT deposits are converted into DAI on arrival.
Reported by CoinDesk
Unchained reports that all zk.money users draw on one shared $50,000 daily deposit allowance, with deposits costing 35 cents, withdrawals 20 cents and 100 sponsored transactions a day each.
50,000 USDReported by Unchained
Unchained reports the wallet went live before Aztec Labs ships a fix for a critical flaw the company found in Aztec Network's proving system this summer.
Reported by Unchained
CoinDesk says the early Alpha release screens addresses under a sanctions policy and that the software has not been fully audited.
Reported by CoinDesk
What happened
Aztec Labs relaunched zk.money on Tuesday, reviving the self-custodial wallet it had shut down three years earlier. Aztec Labs CEO Joe Andrews said in a statement that onchain payments between two individuals should not publish the parties' financial history to the world. The original zk.money served more than 75,000 unique wallets and processed $100 million in volume; Aztec Labs attributes that record to 2021, while Crypto.News says it was built up before the wallet was retired in 2023. The relaunched wallet runs on Aztec Network, the company's privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2, and holds DAI only, with USDC and USDT swapped into DAI on arrival; transfers between zk.money users stay off the public ledger, but deposits into and withdrawals from the wallet remain visible on Ethereum. Every deposit, payment and withdrawal is capped below $2,500, and Unchained reports that all users share one $50,000 daily deposit allowance, with deposits priced at 35 cents, withdrawals at 20 cents and 100 sponsored transactions a day each. CoinDesk says the early Alpha release screens addresses under a sanctions policy and that the software has not been fully audited; Unchained adds that the wallet went live before Aztec Labs ships a fix for a critical flaw it found in Aztec Network's proving system this summer, a detail the other outlets in this set did not carry.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by CoinDesk
Ethereum users get another way to pay privately as zk.money returns after three years
- Update
CoinDesk reports the zk.money relaunch with a $2,500 cap, sanctions screening and no full audit
The first report in this set, published 18:00 CEST on 29 September.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by Crypto.News
Aztec Labs relaunches zk.money wallet for private Ethereum transactions
- Update
Crypto.News confirms the relaunch, the 75,000-wallet and $100 million history, and ENS-based handles
Also reports a planned mobile app and the option to run a frontend on a user's own device.
- Official statement
Aztec Labs posts on X that zk.money is back on a fully decentralized Aztec Network and links to handle claims
The post states the wallet drew 75,000+ wallets and $100M in volume in 2021.
- Update
Decrypt reports the relaunch and quotes Aztec Labs CEO Joe Andrews
A syndication of this report appeared on Crypto News.net the following morning.
- Update
Unchained reports the wallet is live ahead of a fix for a critical proving-system flaw
Adds the shared $50,000 daily deposit allowance, fee schedule and 100 sponsored transactions per day; no other outlet in this set mentions the flaw.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 29 Sept 2026, 16:00 UTC: CoinDesk — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 16:54 UTC: Crypto.News — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 21:46 UTC: Decrypt — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 23:39 UTC: Unchained — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Vitalik Buterin, United States
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoinDesk Crypto media | Ethereum users get another way to pay privately as zk.money returns after three years | Original | |
| Unchained Crypto media | Aztec Revives Its Private Payments Wallet, Capping Every Transfer Below $2,500 | Independent | |
| Decrypt Crypto media | Ethereum Gets Another Privacy Boost as Aztec Brings Back zk.money | Independent | |
| Crypto.News Crypto media | Aztec Labs relaunches zk.money wallet for private Ethereum transactions | Independent | |
| Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) Aggregator | Ethereum Gets Another Privacy Boost as Aztec Brings Back zk.money | Syndicated |
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