# Aztec Testnet For Private Smart Contracts

By [ETH Daily](https://paragraph.com/@eth-daily) · 2023-09-21

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Quick Take
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*   Aztec Sandbox for private smart contracts.
    
*   L2Beat introduces a new TVL framework.
    
*   Balancer suffers a DNS highjack attack.
    
*   Holesky testnet to relaunch on September 28th.
    

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Aztec Testnet For Private Smart Contracts
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Aztec releases a local testnet for private smart contracts. L2Beat introduces a new TVL framework. Balancer suffers a DNS highjack attack And the Hol...

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**Aztec Testnet For Private Smart Contracts**
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Aztec Network [introduced](https://aztec.network/blog/announcing-aztec-sandbox-the-endgame-for-smart-contract-privacy/) Aztec Sandbox, a local developer testnet for creating privacy-preserving applications. The release includes a lightweight local Aztec node, an Aztec RPC Server, the Aztec.nr framework, Aztec.js, Aztec CLI, and a VS Code extension tailored for Noir, along with code tutorials. Developers can use the Sandbox to experiment with private smart contract composability, private L1-L2 function calls, private state management, and hidden function execution. The release represents the initial phase in Aztec's development roadmap to construct a fully decentralized, privacy-preserving Layer 2 solution.

**L2Beat Introduces New TVL Framework**
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Layer 2 analytics platform L2Beat [introduced](https://medium.com/l2beat/redefining-total-value-locked-for-l2s-756160602747) a new framework for calculating TVL in L2 networks. The updated TVL metric on L2Beat will now default to include the value of native tokens deployed directly on L2. Previously, L2Beat only accounted for tokens that originated from L1 as well as chain-specific tokens like OP. The TVL calculation will now encompass canonically bridged assets, externally bridged assets, and natively minted assets within Layer 2 networks. L2Beat will take into account the total supply of tokens on Layer 2, the circulating supply of native tokens, and the token's Coingecko ranking when selecting tokens for TVL.

**Balancer Suffers DNS Highjack Attack**
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Balancer [suffered](https://twitter.com/Balancer/status/1704552285395894422) a DNS hijacking attack that resulted in the loss of over $228,000 worth of assets. During the hijacking incident, users accessing the Balancer front end were deceived into approving a malicious contract, which ultimately transferred their assets to the attacker. Balancer has since regained control over its domain. Balancer attributes the security breach to a social engineering attack on its domain registrar provider, EuroDNS. In response, Balancer announced plans to deprecate its use of the .fi top-level domain (TLD) in favor of a more secure registrar.

**Holesky Testnet Relaunch On September 28th**
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The relaunch of the Holesky testnet is [scheduled](https://github.com/eth-clients/holesky) for Thursday, September 28th, 2023 at 12:00 UTC. The relaunch comes after the initial Holesky testnet launch failed due to misconfiguration issues. A l[aunch party](https://twitter.com/TMIYChao/status/1704600358817796200) for the testnet will take place in Holešovice, Prague at the Bordel Hackerspace. The Holesky testnet will feature an initial validator set of over 1 million validators and 1.6 billion testnet ETH available at Genesis.

**Other News**
--------------

*   PYUSD [goes live](https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/09/20/paypal-venmo-stablecoin-pyusd-interoperability-jose-fernandez-da-ponte/) on Venmo.
    
*   Alchemy ERC-4337 [Q3 stats](https://alchemy.com/blog/erc-4337-statistics-q3-2023).
    
*   Friend Tech [web app](https://twitter.com/friendtech/status/1704608806259548592) support.
    
*   Post Tech [social app](https://twitter.com/0xSisyphus/status/1704563957497757984) on Arbitrum.

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*Originally published on [ETH Daily](https://paragraph.com/@eth-daily/aztec-testnet-for-private-smart-contracts)*