Aztec, the privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 network, has issued a stark warning to users holding funds on its Alpha V4 chain: withdraw before June 25. The deadline is tied to a scheduled governance vote that will bring the V5 upgrade to the network. Once that vote passes, security vulnerabilities in the current V4 code will become publicly visible – and exploitable.
The team posted the alert on X, calling on anyone with assets on the V4 deployment to move them immediately. "After the upgrade, the old contract’s internal logic is fully exposed on-chain," the post said, in effect. That means any bugs or backdoors in the V4 contract – normally hidden from casual inspection – will be readable by anyone with a block explorer.
For users, the risk is straightforward. If funds remain in V4 contracts after the upgrade, attackers can study the code, identify weaknesses, and drain connected wallets. This is not a hypothetical scenario: privacy-focused protocols have been hit before when old codebases became transparent after a fork or upgrade.
The June 25 date is not a soft deadline. Aztec says the governance step is "planned" and barring a last-minute cancellation, will proceed. Users who delay past that point are effectively relying on the hope that no one exploits the disclosed flaws before they move their assets. Given the value at stake across the V4 chain – and the heightened scrutiny on privacy L2s – that is a dangerous bet.
For the wider market, the incident underscores a recurring risk in crypto infrastructure upgrades: the moment new code goes live, old code becomes a target. It also puts a spotlight on Aztec’s migration strategy. V5 promises improved privacy and efficiency, but the transition creates a window of exposure that the team could have sealed with a more gradual migration or a forced withdrawal timeline.
What to watch: All V4 users should verify their balances and initiate withdrawals before 11:59 p.m. UTC on June 25. After that, the contracts will be considered untrusted. Any ETH locked in V4 after the upgrade may be lost to exploiters. Aztec has not announced compensation plans.
Aztec warns users to withdraw funds from old network before June 25 to avoid hacks
Aztec, the privacy-focused Ethereum network, urges users to move their funds from its Alpha V4 system before June 25 because a planned upgrade will expose security flaws. Users who keep funds on V4 risk attackers stealing their money once the old code becomes visible after the upgrade.