Overview
- Aztec Labs confirmed Wednesday that it acquired the Obsidion team behind ZKPassport and pledged to keep the protocol and iOS passport-scanning app fully open source.
- ZKPassport runs on Aztec’s Noir circuits and creates client-side zero-knowledge proofs from NFC scans of passports or national IDs so users can prove specific attributes without revealing raw personal data.
- The technology has live validation: its Noir circuits ran sanctions and compliance checks during Aztec’s December 2025 token sale and the project completed security reviews from firms including Consensys Diligence and TU Vienna.
- By bringing the wallet and identity team in-house, Aztec vertically integrates its privacy stack while keeping the code public so other projects can still build on the same open, auditable tools.
- The main uncertainty now is regulation, since authorities in multiple jurisdictions must decide whether selective-disclosure ZK proofs satisfy KYC/AML rules, a choice that will shape adoption and user privacy in on-chain services.