Azero Foundation Addresses Community Following Cardinal Cryptography Exit

In a public statement, the Aleph Zero Foundation has responded to growing community concerns following Cardinal Cryptography’s decision to exit the project’s ecosystem.

The foundation acknowledged the turbulence of recent days and said it understands the frustration and uncertainty shared by community members. In the statement, Aleph Zero confirmed that it is engaged in ongoing, amicable discussions with both Cardinal Cryptography and the team behind the new project, Common, about the best way forward.

Chain Operations Continue Without Disruption

Despite the organizational changes, Aleph Zero’s Layer 1 blockchain continues to function as normal. The foundation emphasized that the chain remains secure and stable. Its consensus protocol, AlephBFT, still delivers 0.25-second transaction finality and supports up to 100,000 transactions per second.

According to the statement, these technical achievements reflect years of work that has been recognized by both the cryptography and zero-knowledge research communities.

Smooth Transition Underway

The foundation confirmed that Cardinal Cryptography is actively supporting the transition. This includes helping with maintenance and ensuring that no critical infrastructure is affected during the interim period.

“We remain deeply proud of what we’ve built together,” the foundation said, adding that none of the current systems or infrastructure is being discontinued.

Strategy Reevaluation in Progress

Aleph Zero’s leadership is now reassessing its long-term strategy. This includes future plans for both the Layer 1 protocol and the Layer 2 stack. Specific outcomes of this review have not yet been disclosed, but the team promised to provide updates as decisions are finalized.

Commitment to Transparency and Community

The statement stressed the foundation’s commitment to open communication. Ongoing discussions are taking place with developers, ecosystem partners, and the wider community to ensure continuity and long-term stability.

“We remain committed to clear, transparent communication,” the statement read, closing with thanks to those who have contributed to the project so far—and those who will support its next chapter.

Background

The announcement follows a recent split between Cardinal Cryptography, the former core development team behind Aleph Zero, and the Aleph Zero Foundation. Cardinal’s new project, Common, is being positioned as a fresh start focused on decentralization and transparency. The decision has sparked debate within the Aleph Zero community and raised questions about the project’s roadmap and leadership.

$AZERO has crashed 77% in the last week following the core team’s departure.

Community Reaction

To put it kindly, the community didn’t take to it very positively and the confidence on social media did not seem very high. There were some optimists here and there but the majority of people were blaming the team and not having high hopes.