Aztec Labs, the company that acquired ZKPassport (a passport scanning app) but keeps it open source and focused on privacy.
You can read more about it here:
- Aztec Labs has acquired ZKPassport, but plans to keep Noir Circuits and the iOS App open-source.
- App that proves your identity from IDs issued by the government without disclosing personal data
- ZKPassport has already run sanctions checks for Aztec’s token sales in December 2025, validating that the technology is being produced.
Aztec Labs, the company that acquired ZKPassport and will continue to maintain it as an open source app, has purchased ZKPassport. This deal includes the iOS NFC scan and Noir circuits.
The Ethereum layer-2 private network announced the purchase on Wednesday. ZKPassport, built Aztec Noir is a language for programming that allows you to prove your identity using government issued IDs, without having the data underneath revealed.
Aztec Labs’ deal with ZKPassport keeps it public
ZKPassport scans the NFC embedded chip in the passport or ID card, generates a proof of zero knowledge on the phone and only discloses the attribute that the service requires.
Aztec is the app that first caught on. testnetThe Sybil attack was the cause of the invalidator set’s slowdown. After a few weeks, the network had reached its daily target of sequencers.
Aztec Labs keeps the open-source codebase and the framing of public good that helped grow the project. Michael Elliot had already positioned ZKPassport as a solution for non-profit identities before the acquisition.
“In the future, all crypto will be private,” Aztec Labs CEO Zac Williamson told Crypto.news, in an earlier interview, framed ZKPassport verification as one way to achieve compliant on-chain identities that preserve privacy.
Aztec iOS App and the wider stack
ZKPassport iOS’s app is already integrated with Ethereum, Base and Aztec chains, as well as other EVM chains, through the on-chain verification. It consolidates the rails into one team and allows outside developers permission-free integration.
Aztec’s wider push has been centred around programmable privacy. The Ignition Chain, the company’s first decentralised Ethereum L2, went live on November 20, 2025. Shortly afterward, the network was upgraded to alpha and a private smart contract execution environment became available.
ZKPassport Noir circuits were also used to support Aztec in their recent sale of $AZTEC tokens, when they conducted sanctions checks without divulging participant information during the continuous clearing auction December 2025.
This use case was proof that the technology is in production. This acquisition is a formalisation of a partnership that has already been subject to multiple audits. Consensys Diligence, and TU Vienna have both contributed security reviews.
The deal signal for ZK Identity Competition
In 2026, the market for identity that protects privacy has become more competitive. World, Self Protocol Holonym Rarimo all follow the same pattern: Client-side proofing, document scans and selective revelation.
ZKPassport has always been distinguished for its “document-native” approach. It relies on the cryptographic signature already built into ePassports, government IDs, and other documents.
Aztec Labs can effectively claim the infrastructure level without causing competitors to abandon their technology by absorbing ZKPassport and keeping it open. This bet is on programmable security winning through modularity rather than enclosure.
Aztec’s testnet has attracted over 24,000 validators by 2025. ZKPassport – gated human checks – played a key role. decentralisation Push across competing privacy networks. It aligns two mainnet roadmaps.
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Source: crypto.news
