Build on Aleo, the Zero-Knowledge L1 Built for Private Applications
Discover how Dynamic gives developers and users seamless access to Aleo's privacy-first network and its zero-knowledge infrastructure.
Connect users to Aleo in seconds with flexible onboarding
Build privacy-native applications
Power private payments and compliant infrastructure
What is Aleo
A zero-knowledge Layer 1 built for private, programmable applications
Aleo is a Layer 1 blockchain built from the ground up around zero-knowledge proofs. Founded by Howard Wu, Aleo introduced Leo, a purpose-built programming language that makes private application development accessible without deep cryptographic expertise. Its snarkVM executes programs off-chain and submits only ZK proofs on-chain, meaning sensitive data never touches the public ledger.
Aleo is well positioned for institutions
1,000+
TPS
20%
Of transactions are private
$400M+
Funding raised
What's Being Built on Aleo?
A growing ecosystem of privacy-native applications tackling real problems in payments, identity, and financial infrastructure.
Private Payments
Aleo powers end-to-end encrypted stablecoins enabling payroll, treasury transfers, and B2B settlements without exposing transaction data on public rails.
Identity & Compliance
With zPass, Aleo's ZK-based credential system, applications can verify identity, age, accreditation status, or regulatory eligibility without ever seeing the underlying personal data.
Financial Applications
Aleo supports a new class of financial apps where individual positions, trade sizes, and wallet balances remain private while pool state stays public.
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Key terms to know
Leo
A purpose-built programming language for writing zero-knowledge applications on Aleo. Leo abstracts away the complexity of ZK circuit design, allowing developers to build private apps without needing deep cryptographic expertise. It is Rust-inspired and includes developer tooling and a test framework.
snarkVM
The zero-knowledge virtual machine powering Aleo, which executes programs off-chain and submits only cryptographic proofs to the network. This keeps computation private, removes the on-chain execution bottleneck, and opens the door for more complex applications that would be prohibitively expensive to run on-chain.
AleoBFT
A formally verified Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus protocol, inspired by Narwhal and Bullshark. AleoBFT finalizes blocks in a DAG-based structure, maintaining safety even if a portion of validators act maliciously and has been independently audited for correctness.
zPass
The ZK-based identity and credential verification system built into Aleo. Applications using zPass can confirm facts about a user, including age, citizenship, accreditation status, and compliance eligibility, without ever seeing the underlying personal data. A foundation for compliant, private access control.
Selective Disclosure
Rather than exposing all transaction data publicly, selective disclosure encrypts activity on-chain by default while allowing authorized parties, including auditors, regulators, and compliance teams, to access specific details on demand using view keys. This is what allows Aleo to serve institutional use cases without compromising privacy.
Prover Network
Instead of bottlenecking proof generation through a centralized entity, Aleo distributes the work across an open network of incentivized participants. Anyone can run a prover node and earn rewards for contributing, making ZK proof generation decentralized, censorship-resistant, and resilient by design.
FAQs
What makes Aleo different from other Layer 1 blockchains?
Aleo is built around zero-knowledge proofs at the protocol level, meaning privacy is the default for every application, not an optional layer added on top. Unlike EVM chains that process all transactions publicly, Aleo executes programs off-chain and submits only ZK proofs on-chain, keeping transaction inputs and outputs hidden from the public ledger while remaining fully verifiable.
What is the Leo programming language?
Leo is Aleo's purpose-built language for writing zero-knowledge applications. It abstracts away the complexity of ZK circuit design, allowing developers with general programming experience to build private apps without deep cryptographic expertise. Leo is Rust-inspired, open source, and comes with a testing framework and developer tooling.
What is zPass, and how does it work?
zPass is Aleo's ZK-based identity and credential system. It allows users to prove facts about themselves, such as age, citizenship, or accreditation status, using zero-knowledge proofs without exposing the underlying personal data. This makes it useful for KYC, compliance, and access control in applications that require verified identity without a data honeypot.
What types of applications are best suited for building on Aleo?
Aleo is well-suited for any application where data confidentiality is a feature requirement: private stablecoin payments, payroll, DeFi protocols where position privacy matters, identity verification, prediction markets, and compliance-sensitive financial infrastructure. Any use case that involves sensitive financial or personal data and needs to operate on a public blockchain is a strong fit.
How does Aleo balance privacy with regulatory compliance?
Through selective disclosure. Transactions on Aleo are encrypted on-chain by default, but authorized parties including regulators, auditors, and compliance teams can access specific transaction details on demand using view keys. This allows institutions to meet their compliance obligations without broadcasting every payment detail to the public. It's the same model HTTPS applied to web commerce: private by default, auditable when required.
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Diving Deeper Into Aleo
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A data-backed look at $1.22 trillion in institutional stablecoin transfers across 24 months, and why the fact that almost none of it moved privately is a problem that can no longer be ignored.
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A detailed breakdown of what Provable and the Aleo Network Foundation are building across AleoBFT, AleoVM, Leo, and the prover network through 2025 and beyond.
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