Aztec is telling holders of funds on its Alpha V4 network to pull their money out before June 25. That's when a planned governance step — one that will bring the next version, V5, to the network — also makes the current version's security vulnerabilities public.
Why the clock is ticking
The vulnerabilities on Alpha V4 are not yet visible to the public. But once the governance vote goes through, the code changes and the associated security weaknesses will become part of the public record. That means anyone can see them, including attackers who could try to exploit the flaws before users get a chance to move their funds.
Aztec is essentially racing to get everyone out before the window closes. The company has not disclosed the exact nature of the vulnerabilities but has made clear that leaving funds on Alpha V4 after the upgrade would carry significant risk.
What the governance vote will do
The vote is a routine part of upgrading the protocol — a community decision to activate V5 on the network. But because V5 replaces V4, the older code's weaknesses will no longer be hidden. Aztec's request is a direct consequence of that transparency: once the vulnerabilities are public, the old version becomes a target.
Upgrades like this are common in blockchain networks, where code is often open source and changes are voted on by token holders or validators. What's unusual is the explicit warning to withdraw ahead of the switch.
How users can protect their funds
Aztec has given no specific step-by-step instructions beyond the deadline. Users who hold assets on Alpha V4 are expected to initiate a transfer to a safe address — either on the upcoming V5 or on another chain entirely — before June 25. The company has not said whether it will take further action after that date, such as disabling withdrawals.
The onus is on individual holders to act. Anyone who misses the deadline could find their funds stuck on a version that is now exposed to known security holes.
The June 25 deadline is firm, according to Aztec. Holders have until that date to move their assets. After that, the governance step goes through, and the vulnerabilities are out in the open.
