Glossary

Terms used across these docs, in alphabetical order.

AccountRegistry. The contract on Ethereum that holds your Aztec address, your Ethereum account address, and a public key.

Aztec Network. The private network that holds your notes and your balance.

Curve. Where the deposit contract swaps USDC or USDT to DAI.

Deposit address (SIPA). A Segregated Incoming Payment Address: a fresh Ethereum address for funds coming in. It shows nothing about you, and each deposit uses a new one.

Enclave. A sealed server that co-signs every token operation — a transfer within the Aztec Network, a withdrawal to Ethereum — so the token contract can trust a statement about notes it cannot read. Anyone can run one.

Fee-paying contract. A standalone contract that covers network fees for everyone using zk.money, so you never need to hold gas. Deposits and withdrawals top it up.

Freeze. A permanent stop on an Oxide portal, open to anyone once the Aztec Network has moved to a new rollup. It stops new deposits and fixes the portal to the state it had at the freeze. Balances come back through the refund routes, each of which needs a proof from your wallet and an enclave signature.

Note. A private record of value on the Aztec Network.

Oxide. A protocol that runs "alongside" the Aztec Network, providing an independent layer of security against vulnerabilities in the Aztec Network's proving system. It is separate from zk.money, and every role in it is permissionless: the portal on Ethereum, the token contract on the Aztec Network, the enclaves that co-sign every token operation, and the relayer and resolver roles around them. Anyone can run any of these roles.

Oxide portal on Ethereum. Holds the real DAI while the Aztec side holds your private claim on it.

Oxide relayer. Moves a deposit from its arrival address into the network, and finishes a withdrawal on Ethereum. Both jobs are open to anyone.

Oxide resolver. Derives a deposit address for someone who pays your tag from outside zk.money.

Passkey. Your zk.money account. It gives you two keys: a signing key that moves your funds and a secret key that reads your balance and history. See Your two keys.

Payment link. A web link that carries a payment.

Payment request. An ask for an amount. It carries no funds and touches no contract.

Predicate. The service that screens Ethereum addresses against a sanctions policy. The check runs offchain.

Secret key. The key your passkey makes to read your balance and payment history. It cannot move funds. See Your two keys.

Signing key. Your passkey's own key. It approves every payment and never leaves your passkey. See Your two keys.

Sweep. Moving a deposit from its arrival address into the shared pool.

Tag. A name you choose. Your tag and your account address are a public pair on Ethereum.

Tip. The part of a deposit or withdrawal fee that pays whoever sends the Ethereum transaction. A relayer takes it; do that job yourself and you keep it.

XMTP. The messaging network zk.money uses for payment requests and for finding a contact. It does not carry payments: a transfer's tag and memo travel on the Aztec Network, inside the transaction.

zk.money. The wallet: the web wallet and zk.money Desktop.