Privacy L2 Aztec TGE Announcement (2/12) #kol ▫️ TGE Schedule • Date: Wednesday, February 12, 4:00 PM KST * Public sale held in December of last year ▫️ Aztec • Privacy-first Ethereum L2 • The first decentralized network to embed privacy at the protocol level • Aztec Ignition Chain: Already producing live blocks on the Ethereum mainnet • Series B: $100M raised (a16z lead) • Taurus: Building Aztec-based confidentiality token/private security token standards ▫️ a16z Big Ideas 2026: Privacy by Default • a16z envisions privacy by default in blockchain networks in 'Big Ideas 2026' • "Privacy is not a competition of features, but a foundational technology for financial infrastructure" • Programmable privacy will usher in a renaissance that expands on-chain adoption • Aztec doesn't add privacy as an afterthought, but rather embeds it in the base layer. ▫️ Aztec technology currently used by privacy solutions • PLONK (SNARK proof system): Used by zkSync, Polygon, Mina, Solana, Stellar, Starkware, World, and others • Noir (ZK development language): Rapidly growing developer community (Electric Capital) • Collaboration with Starknet on Noir proof verification ✖️ TGE Announcement 🟢 TGE Page 💬 a16z predicted privacy defaults at Big Ideas 2026, and indeed, many privacy-related projects have garnered attention this year. The TGE timing is a bit disappointing, but we hope the sale participants enjoy it!