Aztec relaunches zk.money: how private stablecoin payments on Ethereum work, what they hide and what their limits are
Any USDT transfer on Ethereum or TRON is out in the open for anyone with a block explorer: the amount, the sender, the recipient and the address's entire history. On September 29, Aztec Labs relaunched zk.money, a wallet that keeps stablecoin payments hidden from the public blockchain. The first version started winding down in March 2023, and the new one has no technical connection to it. We look at how the wallet works, what it hides and what it leaves in plain sight, what its limits are and how it differs from Monero and Zcash.
What Aztec has launched
On September 29, Aztec Labs relaunched zk.money, a non-custodial wallet for private stablecoin payments. It runs on Aztec Network, a layer-2 network built on Ethereum. Non-custodial means the user keeps the keys to the money. If you're still weighing your options, start with our guide to custodial vs non-custodial wallets and which one to choose.
The original zk.money ran from 2021, and its shutdown began in March 2023. So the wallet is back three years later, although the new version has no technical connection to the old one. According to Aztec Labs CEO Joe Andrews, a transaction between two people on a blockchain shouldn't mean publishing their entire financial history.
Why ordinary USDT is visible to everyone
The Ethereum and TRON blockchains are public. For any stablecoin transfer, a block explorer shows the amount, the sender and the recipient, and for any address it shows the full history. Pay someone in USDT just once, and they can look up how much sits at your address, where your money came from and who you've paid before. Offline, that would be like handing the cashier your bank statement every time you pay.
On transparency the two networks are identical, and we've covered every other difference between USDT TRC20 and ERC20 in a separate, detailed guide.
USDT comes with a second risk as well. On September 28, Tether said it had helped US authorities freeze about $550 million in Iran-linked USDT in 2026. The issuer can block USDT at any address.
How zk.money works
- Deposit. You deposit DAI, USDC or USDT from the Ethereum network. If your USDT is on TRON, you'll first need to move USDT from TRON to Ethereum. USDC and USDT are converted into DAI, which Aztec Labs picked because it is decentralized, and the company promises to add other assets later. The deposit itself is publicly visible on Ethereum, just like any other transfer.
- Funds on the Aztec network. From there, the DAI is held on the Aztec network, and the wallet balance is hidden from the public blockchain.
- Payment. Every user gets a name in the format name.zk.money, which works through ENS, the Ethereum Name Service. You can pay to such a name or via a link, and the payment amount, sender and recipient are hidden from the public blockchain.
- Withdrawal. DAI can be withdrawn to a regular Ethereum address. Once it lands there, it is visible to everyone again, like any stablecoin transfer.
| Visible on the blockchain | Hidden |
|---|---|
| Deposits from Ethereum — address, coin and amount | Amounts of payments between users |
| Funds withdrawn to a regular Ethereum address | Payment sender and recipient, balances |
Privacy kicks in after the deposit and ends at the withdrawal. If you deposit from an address your counterparties know, the link between that address and the deposit stays on the blockchain. So it's easier to fund the wallet from a fresh Ethereum address, and you can get stablecoins onto it through a crypto exchange with no sign-up.
Limits and rules
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Single transfer | under $2,500 — for deposits, payments and withdrawals |
| Daily deposits | $50,000 across all users combined |
| What you can deposit | DAI, USDC or USDT from the Ethereum network |
| What funds are held in | DAI |
| Address screening | against sanctions lists |
| Relayers | vetted through the Predicate service |
| Admin key | none |
| Not available to | users from the UK and New York State, anyone under 18 |
Aztec Labs describes the limits as a safeguard for the early period. They can only be raised through new smart contracts. The system has no admin key that could be used to change the rules on the fly. The daily cap is shared by everyone, so on a busy day it can run out before you get around to funding your wallet. For now, zk.money isn't designed for large sums, but for small payments it does the job.
Is it legal?
The legal status of privacy wallets in the US is still unsettled. The founders of Samourai Wallet were sentenced to prison, and the retrial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm is scheduled for April 2027. At the same time, in a March 2026 report to Congress, the US Treasury acknowledged that mixers have legitimate uses for financial privacy and did not recommend new restrictions on non-custodial mixers.
zk.money itself screens addresses against sanctions lists and does not serve users from the UK or New York State.
Only use wallets like this within the laws of your own country. If the service is closed to your country or state, that restriction has to be respected. An amount that block explorers can't see doesn't exempt you from taxes or reporting where the law requires them.
zk.money vs Monero and Zcash
Monero and Zcash build privacy into their own coins, while zk.money brings it to dollar stablecoins specifically. Zcash's shielded-pool design is also being tried out on bitcoin — we wrote about how Shielded Bitcoin promises Zcash-style privacy for BTC.
| Comparison | zk.money | Monero | Zcash |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay with | DAI, a dollar stablecoin | its own coin, XMR | its own coin, ZEC |
| When a transfer is hidden | payments inside the Aztec network | always, for every transaction | after funds are moved into the shielded pool |
| What is hidden | amount, sender, recipient, balances | sender, recipient, amount | whatever has been moved into the shielded pool |
For anyone who keeps their savings in dollars, the difference is noticeable. With Monero and Zcash, privacy comes with a separate coin that has its own exchange rate, while zk.money keeps you in dollars, albeit in the form of DAI. Monero, on the other hand, hides the sender, recipient and amount of every transaction by default.
If that's the kind of privacy you're after, you can exchange USDT to Monero without registration, and if you're buying it for the first time, our guide on how to buy Monero when major exchanges don't list it will come in handy.
Where to get stablecoins to fund the wallet
zk.money can only be funded from the Ethereum network. If your USDT sits on TRON, you have two options. You can move it to Ethereum as described above and deposit it as is, and the wallet will convert it to DAI on its own. Or you can swap USDT TRC20 to DAI on Ethereum in one go and fund the wallet with the same coin it keeps your balance in. At VertEXchange, you don't need to register for this, and the coins arrive directly at your address. Just remember that every deposit has to be under $2,500.
Frequently asked questions
What is zk.money?
A non-custodial wallet from Aztec Labs for private stablecoin payments. It runs on Aztec Network, an Ethereum layer-2 network, and hides payment amounts, senders, recipients and balances from the public blockchain. The wallet was relaunched on September 29, 2026; the first version operated from 2021 and began winding down in March 2023.
Can you send USDT anonymously?
A regular USDT transfer on Ethereum or TRON is visible to everyone: the amount, the addresses and the history. With zk.money, you can deposit USDT from the Ethereum network; it gets converted into DAI, and payments inside the Aztec network are hidden from the public blockchain. The deposit itself is still publicly visible, though, and each transfer must be under $2,500.
What are the limits on zk.money?
Each deposit, payment or withdrawal must be under $2,500. Deposits from all users combined are capped at $50,000 a day. Aztec Labs calls the limits an early-period safeguard, and they can only be raised through new smart contracts.
Are private crypto wallets legal?
It depends on the country. In the US their status is unsettled: the founders of Samourai Wallet were sentenced to prison, while in March 2026 the Treasury acknowledged legitimate uses for mixers and did not recommend new restrictions on non-custodial ones. zk.money screens addresses against sanctions lists and is closed to the UK and New York State. Use services like this only within the laws of your country.
How is zk.money different from Monero?
Monero is a separate coin that hides the sender, recipient and amount of every transaction by default. zk.money works with dollar stablecoins: funds in the wallet are held in DAI, payments inside the Aztec network are hidden, and deposits from Ethereum are publicly visible.
Which coins can you deposit into zk.money?
DAI, USDC and USDT from the Ethereum network. USDC and USDT are converted into DAI, and Aztec Labs promises to add other assets later. USDT on TRON has to be moved to Ethereum first.
Who can't use zk.money?
Users from the UK and New York State, as well as anyone under 18.
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