Deep Dive
1. Purpose and privacy technology
Horizen focuses on making privacy useful in apps such as finance and digital identity. Its tools include zero‑knowledge proofs, a way to prove something is true without revealing the underlying information. The aim is selective confidentiality, rather than making every activity impossible to inspect. (Horizen)
2. Network and ZEN
Horizen began in 2017 as a blockchain project and later shifted toward privacy infrastructure on Base, an Ethereum scaling network. ZEN migrated to Base as an ERC‑20 token in 2025; the project describes it as supporting governance and interactions with privacy applications. (CoinMarketCap)
One important recent change: Horizen’s dedicated Layer 3 network stopped processing transactions on November 5, 2026, and Base became its home chain. So Horizen’s current focus is its privacy tools and ecosystem on Base, not an operating standalone Layer 3 network. (The Defiant, TradingView News)
Conclusion
Horizen is a privacy technology project for blockchain apps, while ZEN is its associated token on Base. How might its privacy tools enable applications to keep data confidential while still proving activity is valid?
