A16z Crypto, an Andreessen Horowitz company, led the $100 million Series B fundraising round for the Web3 Aztec privacy layer. The company will focus on building an encrypted version of Ethereum that will allow individuals and organizations to conduct private transactions. The company already provides privacy-based services for various Ethereum-based applications,

Focusing on privacy in Web3 as part of its Series B investment round, Aztec raised $100 million on December 15. Funding from this round, led by a16z crypto and included A Capital, Variant, King River, SV Angel, Fenbushi, Hash Key, and AVG, will be used to create a highly encrypted version of Ethereum.

Aztec believes that while the current emphasis on open and interoperable chains has merit, there is still a need for private and secret transactions that protect the identity and personal information of participants. One of Aztec’s founders, Joe Andrews, spoke to Techcrunch about his view that privacy is essential. He declared: “Without encryption, the world is not a pleasant place to live. A world without privacy would be pretty scary, and we don’t want that..”

Aztec is thinking of speeding up the hiring process to build its privacy-focused network more quickly, and plans to expand its workforce to 80 people soon.

With the help of its Aztec Connect platform, the group already offers privacy services for various protocols and applications built on top of Ethereum. Aave, Curve, Lido, Element, Set Protocol, Compound, and Liquidity users can encrypt transactions using this privacy layer, which was introduced in 2021. Users also benefit from lower fees than layer one transactions because these processes they are grouped.

Aztec also developed Noir, its own programming language, to make this effort seem less intimidating. According to the corporation, this new innovation simplifies the creation of programs and improves their readability, security and reasonableness.

The founders predict that the testnet of the new privacy tool could be launched within the next year, with the official launch of the privacy network between 8 and 24 months later and ending its Connect services after launch, even if there is no one. exact date set for release.

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