Ethereum Layer-2 Solution Project Aztec filed a notification to permanently close the Connect security bridge due to regulatory requirements on the "mix transaction" functionality.
A key piece of the jigsaw puzzle will be decommissioned on March 13, according to Aztec Network, a layer-2 Ethereum solution that has progressed toward zk-rollups and is primarily concerned with transaction confidentiality. In this instance, the infrastructure consists of the Connect security bridge.
The project warns that one week after the news is announced, deposits to smart contracts made utilizing Aztec Connect products, such as zk.money and zkpay.finance, would be prohibited. Nonetheless, clients will still be able to withdraw funds for another year, until March 21, 2024.
The news is released at a time when the US government and other governments are working hard to "lockdown" privacy-promoting mechanisms like Tornado Cash. Before it filed for bankruptcy, FTX had already discovered the Aztec Network, which led them to halt a transaction involving zk.money. The exchange sees zk.money as a "money mixing" technique with a high likelihood of malfunctioning.
The Connect secure bridge mainnet was initially made publicly accessible in July of the year before the Aztec Network's launch, which took place in 2017. The most recent investment round that This Network successfully closed was a Series B capital transaction for the sum of USD 100 million, which was led by a16z. Aztec was successful in raising 119.1 million dollars in total in US dollars.