TL;DR:
- zk.money has returned after three years, offering self-custodial private payments through Aztec while Ethereum deposits remain publicly traceable.
- Users can deposit DAI, USDC or USDT, with the latter two converted to DAI before payments move privately inside the system.
- The Alpha release caps each transaction below $2,500, screens entry and exit addresses, and remains unaudited, making the relaunch both a privacy milestone and an early experimental deployment.
zk.money is returning after a three-year absence, giving Ethereum users another way to send private payments through the Aztec Network. In its relaunch announcement, the project said the self-custodial wallet hides balances, payment amounts and recipients once funds move inside Aztec. The relaunch restores a consumer-facing privacy product while keeping deposits from Ethereum publicly traceable. Users can deposit DAI, USDC or USDT, although USDC and USDT are converted into DAI before private transfers begin.
https://t.co/HrkvxxmHsw is back.
A self-custodial wallet that lets you send and receive crypto privately.
Your money, private by default.
Reserve your unique tag to get started.https://t.co/IC9UAqToDI
— zk.money (@zk_money) September 29, 2026
zk.money Brings Private Stablecoin Payments Back
Inside zk.money, users can send funds through readable names or payment links instead of sharing long wallet addresses. The wallet relies on Aztec’s privacy architecture, which uses zero-knowledge proofs to conceal transaction details while settling activity back to Ethereum. That model makes private payments easier to use without requiring users to surrender custody of their funds. The launch builds on Aztec’s end-to-end privacy stack, where private execution happens on users’ devices.
The Alpha release comes with strict limits. Each deposit, payment and withdrawal must stay below $2,500, while all users share a $50,000 daily deposit allowance that replenishes over time. Deposits cost $0.35 plus Ethereum fees, withdrawals cost $0.20 and users receive 100 sponsored transactions per day. The caps reflect the experimental state of the system rather than a permanent product design. Recent Aztec v5 improvements have already reduced proof times and transaction costs.
Privacy also has clear boundaries. Ethereum deposits reveal the sender and amount, although the recipient inside Aztec can remain private. Deposit and withdrawal addresses are screened under a sanctions policy, and a sealed server co-signs operations without being able to spend user funds independently. zk.money therefore combines self-custody and transaction privacy with compliance controls at the system’s entry and exit points. Similar private payment designs are emerging across Ethereum-compatible networks.
The relaunch revives a product first introduced in 2021 and closed in 2024 after serving more than 75,000 wallets and processing over $100 million. Aztec remains in Alpha, and its software has not been fully audited, meaning critical bugs remain possible. The return of zk.money tests whether Ethereum users want privacy that feels closer to a normal payments app. That experiment now sits alongside Aztec’s broader private smart-contract network, where privacy is being developed as programmable infrastructure rather than a single wallet feature for everyday users across the wider Ethereum ecosystem today.
