Horizen, a pioneering privacy-focused blockchain project, has relaunched its mainnet on Base, completing the most important phase of its years-long transformation process.
Horizen Reborn as Layer 3 of Base: A New Era for Privacy-Focused Projects
This marks the official transition of the project from the previous Layer 1 architecture to a Layer 3 structure. This step is seen not only as a technological refresh, but also as an important governance achievement that will revitalize a community that has been around for nearly nine years.
Horizen Labs CEO Rob Viglione explained that the traditional zero-knowledge (ZK)-based proof-of-work layer was largely not migrated to the new network, and instead a more modern and flexible proof-of-stake application chain was designed. Viglione explained that the project, which birthed ZenCash in 2016, has evolved over the years and naturally led to its current transformation.
With the new structure, Horizen aims to provide developers with practical privacy tools within the Base ecosystem. The project will support both confidential financial services and new application areas such as GambleFi and SocialFi, with a development capital of ZEN 100 million over the next five years.
Horizen's approach is based on a regulated privacy model based on the principle of “selective disclosure.” This allows users to choose the privacy of their transactions while maintaining regulatory oversight where necessary. This policy provides a more balanced roadmap after sensitive transactions are removed from mainnet in 2023 due to global pressure.
The relaunched ZEN token begins trading on Base alongside Aerodrome and Uniswap, and also receives support from major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, OKX, and Bitget.
Horizen's new vision is built on a modern architecture that focuses solely on the execution layer, provides developers with privacy modules that comply with local regulations, and builds on the security of Base. The project aims to achieve long-term compatibility with Coinbase's approach while strengthening the ecosystem through partnerships with infrastructure providers such as LayerZero, Caldera, and Stork.
*This is not investment advice.
