Quicknode Now Supports Aleo

Aleo's privacy-first Layer 1 powered by zero-knowledge cryptography is live in the Quicknode dashboard.

Aleo is a Layer 1 blockchain designed around zero-knowledge cryptography, with privacy built into the protocol rather than bolted on as an afterthought. Quicknode now supports Aleo, and you can deploy an endpoint today.

What is Aleo?

Aleo is a privacy-first L1 where transactions and user data stay confidential while remaining fully verifiable onchain. Computation happens offchain inside snarkVM, the network's zero-knowledge virtual machine. Only a succinct zero-knowledge proof gets posted onchain. Validators verify that the computation was correct without ever seeing the inputs.

The stack consists of three components working together. snarkVM handles offchain program execution and proof generation. snarkOS is the node software that runs the network and verifies proofs. Leo is a Rust-inspired programming language built specifically for writing zero-knowledge applications, with low-level cryptography abstracted away so developers can focus on logic.

Aleo mainnet went live in September 2024. Consensus runs on AleoBFT, a proof-of-stake protocol based on Narwhal and Bullshark. Three roles share in rewards: validators secure the network, provers generate zero-knowledge proofs, and stakers delegate tokens to validators. Aleo Tokens pay for transactions and govern the network.

"Aleo built a Layer 1 with ZK-cryptography where privacy is the default for every transaction and smart contract, giving developers a foundation that hasn't existed onchain before. Quicknode brings the enterprise-grade infrastructure we've been running since 2017. Together, we're giving builders a credible path to ship private payments, DeFi, and AI agents at production scale."

Jordan Patapoff, VP of Ecosystem, Quicknode

Why Privacy Matters Onchain

Every transaction on a public blockchain is visible to anyone who looks. For consumer apps, that's a feature. For payroll, treasury operations, healthcare data, regulated payments, and enterprise workflows, it's a non-starter. No company is going to put salary information on a block explorer for competitors to read. No payment processor will expose customer transaction details to the public.

Aleo solves this with selective disclosure. Transaction details stay private from the public ledger, but applications can be designed to share specific proofs with regulators, auditors, or counterparties when required.

Technical Details

• Layer 1 blockchain with zero-knowledge proofs built into the protocol
• AleoBFT consensus, a Narwhal-Bullshark proof-of-stake mechanism
• snarkVM for offchain execution and zk-SNARK proof generation
• snarkOS as the node client running AleoBFT
• Leo, a Rust-inspired domain-specific language for ZK applications
• Minimum transaction fees of 0.005 Aleo Tokens
• Mainnet live since September 2024

What You Can Build

Aleo unlocks application categories that have been impractical on transparent chains:

• Private payments and remittances where amounts and counterparties stay confidential
• Onchain payroll for global teams without leaking salary data to the public
• Treasury management for companies that need to move funds without signaling strategy
• Privacy-preserving stablecoins like USDCx and USAD with selective compliance disclosure
• Zero-knowledge gaming with confidential game state and verifiable fairness
• Enterprise workflows for healthcare, supply chain, and regulated financial services

Building with Quicknode

Quicknode provides RPC access to Aleo with the same infrastructure and tooling available across 80+ supported chains:

• Globally distributed endpoints for low-latency access
• 99.99% uptime SLA
• Deploy in seconds, no node management
• Single dashboard for all your chains
• Marketplace add-ons for analytics, monitoring, and automation

"Quicknode's support for Aleo is a major step forward for our developer ecosystem. Until now, teams building privacy-preserving applications on Aleo had to stand up and maintain their own node infrastructure. Quicknode removes that operational tax entirely, giving developers production-grade RPC access on day one with the reliability, global distribution, and tooling they already expect from the rest of their stack. We're thrilled to have Quicknode in the ecosystem and excited to see what they enable builders to now ship."

Alex Kim, Developer Relations Lead (Aleo Network Foundation)

Get Started

About Quicknode

Founded in 2017, Quicknode provides world-class blockchain infrastructure to developers and enterprises. With 99.99% uptime, support for 80+ blockchains, and performance trusted by industry leaders, we empower builders to deploy and scale next-generation applications across Web3.

Start building today at Quicknode.com.