Horizen

About Horizen

Horizen is a modular privacy-first platform designed to make privacy technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and trusted execution environments (TEEs) accessible across the web. Originally launched in 2017 as a fair launch, non-ICO project, Horizen is undergoing a major evolution with Horizen 2.0, a next-generation Layer 3 (L3) appchain deployed on Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 developed by Coinbase. Horizen 2.0 is built as an Ethereum-aligned L3 appchain, inheriting Ethereum's security while implementing its own application-level integrity guarantees. Its security model includes Ethereum-aligned security via Base, a simplified and secure architecture, and a decentralized privacy stack. The platform integrates a diverse stack of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), including zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), TEEs, attribute-based encryption (ABE), multi-party computation (MPC), and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Horizen aims to be the first privacy appchain on Base, enabling privacy layers for any app on the network, and it scales ZK privacy by integrating with infrastructure providers like Fermah, zkVerify, and Singularity. The ZEN token is the native utility token used for governance, accessing privacy services, and fueling zkApp interactions. With migration to Base, ZEN becomes an ERC-20 token, improving liquidity and interoperability. ZEN's updated tokenomics allocates 5 million unminted tokens toward ecosystem growth, and it powers DAO governance, serves as a payment token in privacy apps, and supports a sustainability fund.

• Horizen was launched in 2017 as a fair launch project with no initial coin offering (ICO).
• Horizen 2.0 is deployed as a Layer 3 appchain on Base, which is Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2.
• Horizen integrates multiple privacy-enhancing technologies including zero-knowledge proofs, TEEs, attribute-based encryption, multi-party computation, and fully homomorphic encryption.
• ZEN's tokenomics includes 5 million unminted tokens allocated for strategic ecosystem growth.
• Horizen is governed by a DAO and community proposals called ZENIPs.