{"id":"horizen","title":"Horizen","content":"**Horizen** is an [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm)-compatible [Layer-3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-3) blockchain built on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) using the OP Stack. It is designed to support onchain applications that require confidential execution and programmable compliance, with potential applications across [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), payments, institutional finance, and [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents). [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-rff4x9ud6s) \n\n## Overview\n\nHorizen is an [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm)-compatible [Layer-3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-3) blockchain built with the OP Stack that settles onto [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base), which in turn settles onto [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum). Its current architecture was established after ZEN balances were migrated from the original Horizen mainchain and EON [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm) chain to a [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base)-native [ERC-20](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erc-20) contract in July 2025. The network is developed by Horizen Labs, which also develops Vela, a confidential-computation system, and zkVerify, a [zero-knowledge proof](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zero-knowledge-proofs-zkps) verification and attestation protocol. The Horizen Foundation oversees ecosystem stewardship and operates under the governance framework established by the Horizen DAO Constitution.\n\nHorizen is designed to support applications that require confidentiality, auditability, or compliance while retaining compatibility with the [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) development stack. Developers can use standard Solidity and familiar [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm) tools and choose among different privacy approaches, including Vela's trusted execution environments, zkVerify's zero-knowledge infrastructure, or confidentiality mechanisms implemented directly at the application level. Applications can keep selected computations or data confidential while providing cryptographically verifiable information for auditing and compliance, and assets can move between Horizen and [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) through native and [LayerZero](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layerzero)-based bridges. The architecture is intended to support use cases including [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), payments, institutional finance, and AI applications without requiring every application to adopt the same privacy technology. [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-ceohT9kuu8LoMmzx) \n\n### History\n\nHorizen's current architecture followed a migration that consolidated ZEN balances from both the original Horizen mainchain and the EON [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm) chain onto a single [ERC-20](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erc-20) [smart contract](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base), with the process completed on July 23, 2025. EON balances, including staked balances, were automatically migrated to corresponding [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) addresses, while balances from the original ZEND mainchain required users to claim their funds through a dedicated backup vault because the mainchain's [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin)-style address format could not be directly mapped to [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum)-compatible addresses. Following the migration, both legacy chains were discontinued, and ZEN activity was consolidated within [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base)-based [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) as Horizen transitioned to its current form as an [L3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-3) settling on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base). [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-rff4x9ud6s) \n\n## Features\n\n### Vela\n\n![](https://ipfs.everipedia.org/ipfs/Qmb8TWVX1CSkHbDW4KfmgADVi3EJ2hyZm7SHVCV5zto2Ej)\n\nVela is a confidential compute layer developed by Horizen Labs for private execution on Horizen Chain. It uses Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), which isolate application computations in hardware-protected enclaves and produce cryptographic attestations that the computation was performed correctly. Applications can therefore keep sensitive data, positions, and execution logic hidden from the public and the infrastructure operator, while publishing encrypted outputs and verifiable evidence of execution onchain. Vela is intended to support confidential applications that also require auditability and compliance, with potential use cases including [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), institutional finance, payments, and other applications where transaction or business data cannot be fully public. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-BK0q4jJnET0GcbwU) \n\n## Architecture\n\n### L3 Model\n\nHorizen Chain operates as an [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm)-compatible OP Stack [Layer-3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-3) rollup that settles directly onto [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base), creating a layered architecture in which [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) provides the underlying security and final settlement, [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) provides execution scalability and data availability, and Horizen provides application execution and coordination. Horizen publishes transaction data and state commitments to [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) while inheriting its sequencing and infrastructure, allowing applications to operate within the broader [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) ecosystem. Confidential computation can be added through Vela, a separate coprocessor that executes sensitive workloads inside trusted execution environments (TEEs), produces cryptographically attested results, and anchors those results on-chain. Operating as an independent [L3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-3) also gives applications shared infrastructure such as a common address space, composability, and [block explorer](https://iq.wiki/wiki/block-explorer), rather than requiring them to operate as a disconnected collection of applications directly on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base). [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-AhoLb912x9FNzMZz) \n\n### Privacy and Compliance\n\nHorizen uses a privacy-agnostic approach in which applications can select different confidentiality mechanisms according to their requirements rather than relying on a single mandatory architecture. Vela provides confidential execution through trusted execution environments (TEEs), keeping application data encrypted during processing while producing cryptographic attestations of the computation; it is designed as a chain-agnostic coprocessor that can serve [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine-evm)-compatible networks beyond Horizen. Applications can also use zkVerify for [zero-knowledge proof](https://iq.wiki/wiki/zero-knowledge-proofs-zkps) verification and attestation or implement simpler confidentiality mechanisms directly within Solidity contracts when dedicated TEE or ZK infrastructure is unnecessary.\n\nCompliance is similarly implemented at the application level rather than enforced through a universal platform-wide rule set. Developers can encode deterministic controls such as allowlists, role-based permissions, jurisdiction restrictions, and transaction limits directly into [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract), while Vela can handle compliance checks involving sensitive information by executing verification logic privately and producing attestations that authorized auditors or regulators can verify without accessing the underlying data. Horizen also supports third-party [AML](https://iq.wiki/wiki/anti-money-laundering-aml)/[KYC](https://iq.wiki/wiki/know-your-customer-kyc) screening through [PureFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/purefi), which performs risk checks off-chain and returns signed verification data that [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) can validate before allowing a transaction or other business logic to proceed. [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-V4SgYYZzNKb01iGh) \n\n## ZEN\n\nZEN is the native coordination, value-routing, and [governance token](https://iq.wiki/wiki/governance-tokens) of the Horizen ecosystem. It is an [ERC-20](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erc-20) token on [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) that can be bridged to Horizen Chain through [LayerZero's](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layerzero) [Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/oft-omnichain-fungible-token) framework, but it is not used to pay [transaction fees](https://iq.wiki/wiki/transaction-fee) on Horizen. Instead, ZEN is intended to support [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking), ecosystem coordination, governance, and application-level utility, with its broader economic role tied to activity across the network. [Staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) rewards are designed to come from multiple sources, including [DAO](https://iq.wiki/wiki/dao) bootstrap incentives, liquidity-provisioning activity, protocol fee shares from applications, VFY emissions associated with zkVerify nodes, planned Vela-related economics, and sequencer revenue. Other assets supported within the ecosystem include [USDC](https://iq.wiki/wiki/usdc) and [cbBTC](https://iq.wiki/wiki/coinbase-wrapped-btc-cbbtc), while [ETH](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ether-eth) and other supported assets can move between [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base) and Horizen through the native OP Stack bridge or [LayerZero](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layerzero)-based bridging infrastructure.\n\nZEN also has a role in Horizen's governance structure through the Horizen DAO, which provides the framework for community participation in decisions affecting the ecosystem. Governance allows community members to submit and vote on proposals through defined categories and procedures, with the DAO Constitution and related foundational documents establishing the responsibilities and mandate of the Horizen Foundation. In this structure, ZEN's function extends beyond being a transferable token to serving as part of the mechanisms through which economic activity, [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking), and governance are connected across the ecosystem. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-mu9pfzzc6yj)  [\\[8\\]](#cite-id-wU5zlNWHu0Y8fotk) \n\n### Tokenomics\n\nZEN has a total supply of 21M tokens and has the following allocation: [\\[10\\]](#cite-id-az5Kb5Z2tIlSWgXq) \n\n* **Collator Rewards**: 40%\n* **Horizon Foundation**: 32.5%\n* **Ecosystem Development**: 15%\n* **ZEN Growth**: 10%\n* **DAO Treasury**: 27.5%\n* **ZEN Sustainability Initiative**: 17.5%\n* **Community Grants**: 5%\n* **Growth Marketing**: 5%\n\n## Partnerships\n\n* [Base](https://iq.wiki/wiki/base)\n* [PureFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/purefi)\n* Obscura\n* AdPriva\n* Goldsky\n* Stork\n* Caldera\n* [LayerZero](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layerzero)\n* ZENDEX\n* Tachyon\n* Lighter.IM\n* Amaanah","summary":"Horizen is an EVM-compatible Layer-3 blockchain built on top of Base, an Ethereum Layer-2 powered by the OP (Optimism) Stack.","images":[{"id":"Qmd8zKorAiYui3XUWiiZvmRca9TLgWhraRZSHJgjn74XEK","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"categories":[{"id":"projects-and-protocols","title":"Projects & 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