Aztec Network pushed Alpha V5 to mainnet on Tuesday, reporting that a fully private transaction now proves in roughly 2.5 seconds on a consumer laptop. That is twice as fast as V4, and the fee has dropped to under $0.05 per private token transfer, a 50% reduction from the previous version.
Why proving speed matters here
On Aztec, zero-knowledge proofs are generated locally on the user's device, not delegated to a third-party server. That design keeps transaction data private by default, but it also means the user's hardware is doing the heavy lifting. Shaving that process from five-plus seconds down to 2.5 seconds on a standard laptop is a meaningful quality-of-life shift for anyone actually trying to use private DeFi day-to-day.
Aztec says V5 also "resolves the critical V4 issues" identified during testing. The team cited input from more than 234 researchers through the Cantina bug bounty program before pushing to mainnet. These figures are self-reported and have not been independently benchmarked.
Nyx is the first live app, open to everyone for 24 hours
The first application shipping with V5 is Nyx, a wallet that links an existing Ethereum address and enables private transfers on Ethereum as well as private yield via Aave. Nyx runs on an invite-only basis normally, but Aztec opened access to all users for a 24-hour window around the launch.
Beyond Nyx, the number of live apps remains unspecified. In a reply to its own announcement thread, Aztec's account noted that "more apps are rolling out VERY soon," without a concrete timeline or list.
The V5 release follows Aztec's earlier alpha network phase and a public testnet, moving the project's performance claims from controlled environments onto a live mainnet for the first time.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.
