Aztec public sale raises over $61 million, governance voting unlocks in February 2026

Privacy-focused Ethereum L2 Aztec Network completed its token public sale on December 6, utilizing a new “Continuous Clearing Auction (Continuous Clearing Auction, CCA)” protocol co-designed with Uniswap Labs. The sale raised over 19,400 ETH (approximately $61 million) from more than 16,000 participants. Aztec emphasized that this fundraising marks a significant shift from “insider-led” to “community-first” token launches, and will be a key step toward its vision of building a privacy-first world computer.

Aztec Raises 19,400 ETH, Community-Led Token Allocation

From December 2 to 6, Aztec Network held its public $AZTEC token sale, ultimately raising 19,476 ETH with participation from 16,000 people.

According to the team, about 50% of the funds came from community members, including testnet participants, early users, and ecosystem contributors, rather than traditional large-scale institutional allocations. The team sees this as a symbolic breakthrough against the conventional “insider-led” token launch culture, reflecting the belief that early participants in crypto should have greater rights.

CCA Model Debuts for Fair Pricing

This sale used the CCA mechanism co-developed with Uniswap Labs, marking its first real-world application. The auction started at a floor price corresponding to a $350 million FDV, offering a 75% discount to Aztec’s previous equity valuation. There was also a cap of 240 ETH per user to prevent excessive concentration by whales.

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams voiced his support, stating that the CCA successfully prevented sniping and time-based competition, with the final clearing price 59% above the floor:

No sniping, no bundling, no time games—just slow and fair price discovery. People even had days to watch and bid for better average prices.

(Uniswap joins forces with Aztec to launch the Continuous Clearing Auction protocol, redefining token pricing and liquidity mechanisms)

Tokens Locked Until February 2026, Unlock Schedule Decided by Governance Vote

The official announcement stated that all AZTEC tokens purchased in this round are non-transferable and will be locked until at least February 11, 2026. At that time, token holders can initiate a governance vote to decide whether to lift the restriction; if the vote fails, tokens will unlock gradually on a linear schedule until November 2026.

Users allocated more than 200,000 AZTEC tokens can also choose to stake and become Aztec validators to earn rewards.

After the TGE, Uniswap V4 will also launch a liquidity pool with 273 million AZTEC (about 2.6% of total supply), providing baseline liquidity for secondary market trading.

a16z, Paradigm, Vitalik Support: Aztec Accelerates Privacy Adoption

In 2022, Aztec completed a $100 million Series B funding round, with investors including top VCs a16z, Paradigm, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, raising a total of over $119 million.

Last month, the protocol launched its privacy-focused L2 Ignition Chain, which now has 165 nodes running and 556 million AZTEC staked. Blocks are being produced normally, but general transactions are not yet enabled. The team expects a full launch in early 2026.

(Aztec Network launches Ignition Chain: Privacy-centric Ethereum Layer 2 goes live)

This article Aztec public sale raises over $61 million, governance vote to unlock in February 2026 first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.