A new chapter for onchain privacy begins today. 

Horizen has officially launched its mainnet on Base, bringing a practical and compliance-friendly path to private onchain activity - one that fits seamlessly into the Ethereum environment millions already use. 

This launch completes our transition from an isolated proof-of-work chain to a fully EVM-native chain that settles to Ethereum. For everyday users, this shift means faster transactions, lower fees, and access to tools and apps that feel familiar to anyone who has used Ethereum or Base.

Horizen is now a high-performance Layer 3 blockchain built on Base. Execution happens locally for speed and efficiency, and settlement anchors to Base and Ethereum for security and decentralization. This creates a smooth experience with:

• Fast finality

• Low transaction costs, 

• Smooth interaction with privacy-aligned applications 

• Full access to the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

ZEN, Horizen’s native token, has already migrated to Base as an ERC-20. The fixed supply of 21 million tokens remains unchanged with an updated and more sustainable tokenomics. ZEN is available on major exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, OKX, ByBit, and others, and is actively trading on decentralized exchanges such as Aerodrome and Uniswap.

Horizen mainnet launches with a strong lineup of applications and infrastructure partners already live or actively building, creating a fully supported environment from day one. Applications available at launch include Gamblor and Hubz VCE, each showcasing early use cases made possible by Horizen’s privacy-focused architecture.

Key infrastructure partners powering the ecosystem include Caldera for rollup infrastructure, LayerZero for fast and secure cross-chain messaging, Stork for real-time oracle feeds, Den for multisig wallet support, and Goldsky for indexing and data streaming. Together, these teams provide the essential tooling developers need to build and ship high-value applications as soon as Horizen goes live.

Horizen was created for people and businesses that need confidentiality without losing interoperability or compliance. Our next phase introduces privacy-friendly application development on Base using familiar Solidity tooling. Builders will be able to incorporate features such as selective disclosure, private transfers/swaps, and configurable identity and access controls, all directly at the app level.

Horizen will also connect to zkVerify, the universal zero-knowledge proof verification network. Applications that need heavy cryptographic computation can pass that work to zkVerify, which lowers gas costs and speeds up complex transactions.

Horizen uses the OP Stack and is fully compatible with the EVM. Anyone who has built on Ethereum can deploy to Horizen without learning new languages or new frameworks. The combination of fast finality, low fees, and native integration with Base makes Horizen a natural home for privacy-aligned DeFi, gaming, SocialFi, and data-focused applications that need scale and regulatory-compliant confidentiality.

The first versions of Horizen’s privacy-focused tools launch with mainnet. But this is only the foundation. 

Developer Growth

Over the coming months, the ecosystem will expand through the Horizen Developer Grant Program. This initiative allocates 1,000,000 ZEN to builders creating applications in confidential finance, business tools, gaming, SocialFi, and onchain services.

Staking and Network Participation

Staking for ZEN will return soon through a new mechanism that rewards network participation and strengthens ecosystem security.  

Horizen Confidential Compute Environment (HCCE)

Horizen Labs will also release a preview of its Confidential Compute Environment. This environment gives builders a way to run encrypted computation directly onchain without learning advanced cryptography.

The full release of the Confidential Compute Environment is planned for early 2026. It will use Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to allow private and verifiable computation inside the chain itself. This gives developers a path to build secure and private applications with the same ease as any other EVM based app.

Horizen is now fully part of the Ethereum ecosystem while staying true to its mission of delivering practical and accessible privacy. Users get a network that is fast, affordable, and familiar. Developers get a place to build real privacy applications without losing the benefits of Base and Ethereum.

Mainnet is only the beginning. More tools, more applications, and more ways to use privacy in everyday onchain activity are on the way.