Vitalik is disappointed with Layer2, but Aztec has something to say A stone startled a thousand waves, and V God's recent remarks about L2 have sparked widespread discussion in the entire encryption circle. His core viewpoint is that from a technical perspective, L2s are trapped in Stage 1, and from an ecological perspective, the vast majority of them lack innovation and repeat the gameplay of the mainnet. At the same time, high-speed L1s are developing rapidly. Let's dive in! ⬇️ In fact, objectively speaking, V God's remarks are more from the perspective of technical ecology, wanting to provide more inspiration for Ethereum expansion, rather than really belittling Layer 2. In fact, whether it is as he wishes or not, a large number of Layer 2 with different positioning have developed quite well. Can you say that Base is not lively? Can you say Blast is not exciting? But they seem to be deviating from their original intention of expanding Ethereum in terms of decentralization and privacy conditions. Aztec has been on this path all along. There are relatively few people who pay attention to purely technical projects, but they are very important. In summary, Aztec is Ethereum's first truly decentralized Layer 2 network. Attention, it's the first one! At present, Aztec Ignition Chain has been launched on the Ethereum mainnet and continues to produce blocks. Driven by privacy first technology and philosophy, Layer 2, which is uniquely positioned by Aztec, is the true innovator in seamlessly expanding Ethereum. Decentralization and privacy, if either one is lost, everything becomes less pure. Layer 2 mostly starts from business requirements, making compromises and concessions in technology, either adapting to their own ecological business needs, or truly.. I don't have that ability. With Aztec, all developers are about to usher in a new era where all smart contracts are private, and Aztec will become a privacy infrastructure that empowers developers, just like water, electricity, and light. More importantly, their solution is to embed privacy controls directly at the bottom of the network, rather than a decentralized system that is "stacked" based on demand afterwards. If familiar with the privacy track or encryption technology, PLONK and Noir should not be unfamiliar, as these are the technological contributions that Aztec has almost independently completed. Noir is a zero knowledge programming language with syntax similar to Rust, allowing developers to quickly write ZK circuits in a familiar way. ， The Noir ecosystem has grown rapidly in recent years and has become a popular choice for ZK application development to build privacy DeFi, identity authentication, and other applications. PLONK is an efficient and universal zk SNARK proof system proposed by the Aztec team. With just one universal trust setting, it can support various complex calculations and is now an industry standard. After searching, several familiar projects such as Mina, Polygon zkEVM, Scroll, Linea, etc. are all using PLONK or its variants. What is commendable is that Aztec is not just a tech enthusiast, its ecosystem is thriving. I didn't expect that the public blockchain, which excels in privacy technology, is highly favored by traditional finance, which is very explosive in the current context of blockchain reverse integration with Tradfi. Tradfi, Stablecoin, and RWA need to leverage public chains like Aztec that prioritize privacy, have solid technology, and can operate at high speeds to achieve large-scale adoption. JPMorgan Chase, Taurus, and others have already collaborated. / A16z has included privacy as a separate chapter in its 2026 Blockchain Landscape Report, and many people are unaware that a16z has also placed a bet on Aztec's $100 million Series B in this track layout. At that time, it should have valued the team's strong background, as they invented and defined trustless client proofs. Last year, Aztec showcased its strength on the blockchain and completed a fully on chain public offering, with over half of the funding coming from community members' contributions. This also demonstrates that in addition to technology, capital, and resources, Aztec has extensive community support. In Q1 of 2026, Aztec is expected to release significant information in terms of technology and governance. We strongly recommend following the official Twitter account @ aztecnetwork. I just discovered that a Ticker AZTEC has been given, and by clicking on the webpage, you can clearly see that there are still 2 days left until the TGE countdown! The page also provided some details. Currently, there are 4025 nodes on the network and 925m of AZTEC has been pledged. This startup data is impressive enough. The big one is coming. Wish us good luck! / Author: Anymose | A Soft Core Science Popularization Writer This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. Always remember DYOR!