On April 1, Aztec Network, a privacy chain supported by a16z, officially launched AlphaNetwork, becoming the first Ethereum Layer 2 with a complete private smart contract execution environment, previously approved by community governance votes. Aztec integrates privacy at three levels: private data supports confidential transactions and RWA transfers; private identity allows selective disclosure to meet compliance requirements; and private computation conceals on-chain behavior, creating space for privacy-focused DeFi and gaming applications. Contracts are written in the Rust-style language Noir, with privacy logic executed on the user side to generate zero-knowledge proofs, settling approximately every 12 seconds on Ethereum. However, this launch comes with a significant warning, as Aztec disclosed known severe security vulnerabilities, with auditing still ongoing. The team advises users to only deposit funds they can afford to lose.