Aztec vs competitors

General
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Good day Aztec forum!

Been following your Project from September 2023. Really like the values you guys preserve. I can see the fire in the eyes of Zac as of team and the community.

I’m not really well experienced developer and would really appreciate if anybody could help me figure out the answers for the following questions:

  1. Why Aztec is privacy-first L2 but not L1 like Aleo project with it’s rust based Leo language?

  2. Starknet’s STARKs are kind of quantum resistant, does Aztec address this possible future problem?

  3. Why I should invest time in learning Noir, when I can pick up Cairo and launch a project on the mainnet?

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Aleo is building their own L1 on their own language, but it still doesn’t work, and they keep postponing mainnet all the time

It’s not that easy to do + hard to increase TVL, when the main TVL is on EVM chains

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Hi - not an Aztec employee here but rather an enthusiastic member of the wider community.

To your Noir vs. Cairo question, which also seems to hint at the perceived lag between Starknet’s development and Aztec’s development:

One reason to be uniquely excited about Aztec (as opposed to Starknet in its current state) is that the Aztec team is focussed on creating a ZK rollup. Note that a ZK rollup is not the same as a validity rollup, although the terms are often used interchangably. Starknet is a validity rollup. A validity rollup (for current purposes) can be defined as a rollup that compresses tx data by posting proofs of valid transactions to an L1. A ZK rollup, on the other hand, is a validity rollup that is also zero-knowledge, i.e. enables private transactions. Starknet in its current design is not private. You would have to build something like Aztec, on top of Starknet, to make Starknet capable of privacy.

(Historically, members of the Aztec team didn’t use the phrase “ZK Rollup vs Validity Rollup” but rather “ZK ZK Rollup vs ZK Rollup”, in case you come across other confusing resources)

ZK rollups are arguably much harder to build than validity rollups. Both are obviously big undertakings, so kudos to the Starknet team. But when it comes to ZK rollups, none are live and working as hoped yet. Hence the delay in deployment. Innovation takes time!

Hope that helps to answer your question.

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Having explored and read numerous threads and comments on this forum, I’d like to share my perspective on the answers to your questions.

Aztec prioritizes L2 for privacy because L1 blockchains like Ethereum have throughput limitations. Adding complex computations for privacy at the L1 level can significantly decrease network speed and increase transaction costs. L2s allow for more specialized privacy solutions tailored to specific application needs. This means developers can choose the best tools and algorithms for their projects. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, L2s are much easier to update and improve than L1s. This allows Aztec to quickly adapt to changes in the ecosystem and implement new technologies.

Reasons to Learn Noir

Here are a few reasons why you should consider learning Noir:

  • Specialization: Noir is specifically designed for building private applications. It offers a higher level of abstraction and optimization for achieving maximum privacy.
  • Cutting-edge technology: Noir utilizes state-of-the-art zero-knowledge proof techniques, enabling the creation of more efficient and secure solutions.
  • Growing community: The Noir developer community is actively growing, and you can always get help and support.
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