quick take:

• Aztec Network has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
• Aztec co-founder Joe Andrews describes the platform as an encrypted version of Ethereum.
• The company also announced Aztec Connect as the first application built on the network.

Aztec Network has closed a round of financing of 100 million dollars led by Andreessen Horowitz (A16z). The web3 startup wants to bring encryption to the blockchain.

Disclosing the fundraiser to TechCrunch, Aztec co-founder Zac Williamson said that encryption is one of the missing elements to bring web3 to the mainstream, adding that while some encrypted blockchains do exist, they look alike. more to bitcoin.

Aztec Network is developing a programmable blockchain network, which Joe Andrews, also a co-founder of the company, describes as “an encrypted version of Ethereum.” “Normally on Ethereum everything is public, but we are encrypting it. That journey has taken us many years to develop.”

The company also announced Aztec Connect as the first ecosystem to be built on its network. According to the Aztec website, Aztec Connect integrates with Ethereum Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols such as Aave, Lido, and Element Finance. The company plans to add Compound Finance and five other protocols in the future.

Encrypted blockchains enhance user privacy by authorizing transactions without revealing key user details. Recently, blockchain developers have focused on web3 identity solutions that use zero-knowledge proofs. However, the technology is still in its nascent state with Polygon and BNB Chain among the early adopters.

“The world is not nice to live in without encryption,” Andrews said. “Review your day and think about how many things you would not like people to see. Not everything is bad; it’s just your daily life. But think about how you take it for granted. Doing things without privacy would be a pretty scary world and not one we want.”

Although Aztec did not disclose other investors participating in the Series B round, the company said the Silicon Valley-based venture firm was not the only investor.

“We choose [a16z] to lead the round because they’ve been through this before with the dawn of the internet,” Andrews said. “It is a situation similar to the one we find ourselves in; Yes, different, but the same problem. We have this exciting new technology and the opportunity to transform everyone’s lives in the world, but we need encryption to make it happen.”

Aztec plans to use the funds to double its team of developers globally after growing from seven to 40 last year.

Aztec Network differentiates its encrypted blockchain from Zcash and Iron Fish Network, which also operate in the same segment by making its network programmable. This means that developers can easily build privacy-focused applications on the web, which Andrews believes could be the key to bringing web3 mainstream.

“Adding encryption to blockchain technology could “spawn a whole wave of personal consumption finance” and much more, he said.

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