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TLDR: Horizen is changing. The Horizen L3 is winding down over the next two weeks. 

Users should bridge their assets to Base at their soonest possible convenience, including unstaking and withdrawing any funds from ZEN staking on the Horizen chain. A new ZEN staking program will commence on Base soon.

While L3 wind-down has quietly been in preliminary planning phases as part of ongoing roadmap development, migration is being accelerated due to upcoming Base network upgrades that will break compatibility with existing Base L3 chains on the OP (Optimism) stack.

Why this change? As the Horizen L3 on Base has been operational on mainnet for nearly one year, the most compelling projects being built on Horizen today use privacy technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and TEEs that do not require the operation of dedicated block space as an L3 blockchain settling to Base.

With the emergence of Vela as a TEE-based confidential execution environment for private onchain finance – Base will now be utilized as the primary chain for the Horizen ecosystem.

Applications currently in development by independent teams in the Horizen ecosystem will also make this transition. Additionally, we expect the pace of project development to increase in future quarters due to reduced architectural complexities with respect to bridging and cross-chain token mechanics.

As part of this wind-down and migration, ZEN staking on the Horizen L3 will come to an orderly but immediate conclusion. Expect more information in the coming days about ZEN staking on Base.

Horizen chain wind-down and migration will occur over approximately the next two weeks as Base upgrades to its Denim release, with breaking changes to OP-stack chains settling to Base. Please migrate all funds before November 4, 13:00 UTC. Details follow below:

ACTION REQUIRED: Move your assets off the Horizen L3 by November 4, 13:00 UTC The Horizen L3 is shutting down.

Bridging from the L3 to Base closes at 13:00 UTC on Tuesday, November 4. If you hold ZEN, ETH or other assets on the L3, please move them to Base before that date and time. 

What happens if I miss the date to bridge to Base?

Any ZEN or ETH still on the Horizen L3 after the bridge closes will be returned to you on Base by the Horizen DAO after funds are made recoverable. This process is expected to take several weeks. Withdrawing now is the fastest path to returning your assets to Base.

WHAT TO DO

1. If you are staking ZEN: Go to https://staking.horizen.io. Withdraw your stake first, then claim your rewards. Staking rewards on the L3 end on October 25; there is nothing to wait for.

Withdraw from ZEN staking 2. Bridge your ZEN and USDC.e to Base: https://stargate.finance

Bridge your ZEN and USDC.e to Base via Stargate (LayerZero) 3. Bridge your ETH to Base: Withdraw your ETH via the native bridge at https://bridge.horizen.io. Start this before November 4; the transaction will be finalized for you and completed on Base in approximately two weeks.

USDC.e is operated by Stargate, not Horizen, and is not covered by the DAO return; you must bridge USDC.e out before November 4.

If you need ETH on Horizen for gas to bridge out other assets, bridge a very small amount of ETH from Base to the Horizen L3 using the native bridge at https://bridge.horizen.io.

Bridge your ETH to Base L3 gas costs a fraction of a cent, so bridge the minimum the bridge allows and no more; ETH left on the L3 below 0.001 ETH after network wind-down will not be returned.

If you are using a Safe multi-sig or any other vault or smart contract wallet on the L3 and are unable to withdraw assets before Nov 4, contact [email protected] to open coordination for a return of funds.

Bridging ZEN from Base to the Horizen L3 is already disabled. ETH deposits remain open only for users to bridge ETH to Horizen for gas to withdraw other assets.

IF YOU MISS THE DEADLINE At 13:00 UTC on November 4, a snapshot of every balance and every staking position on the L3 will be taken. The Horizen DAO will recover funds and subsequently send each holder their ZEN, including unclaimed staking rewards, to the same address on Base, after a one-week public review of the snapshot. ETH balances above 0.001 ETH are returned the same way. The anticipated timeframe for return of funds is second half of November. If your Horizen L3 wallet address is a smart contract wallet that does not similarly exist on Base, please contact us at [email protected] before Nov 4 to open coordination for a return of funds.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING SO QUICKLY?

Earlier this week, Base scheduled its “Denim” upgrade, which moves Base to 200-millisecond blocks, for November 5. OP Stack chains that settle to Base, including the Horizen L3, cannot follow that change: about 40 minutes after activation the L3 can no longer include user transactions, permanently. We identified this, confirmed it on the Base Sepolia testnet where Denim is already live, and our infrastructure provider has confirmed there is no fix. We set the bridging cutoff one day earlier than hard shutdown so that the snapshot is clean and nothing is in flight when the chain stops.

STAKING WILL CONTINUE ON BASE

We expect to redeploy ZEN staking on Base in the coming days. The program remains funded per ZenIP-42408, so staking will resume where ZEN already lives natively, on Base. Details will follow in separate posts to come. Unstaking your ZEN from the L3 today will position you for the start of staking on Base.

WHAT COMES NEXT

Base will become the home chain for the Horizen ecosystem. ZEN already lives on Base natively, and the work ahead – including a compliant privacy pool with staked ZEN-powered nodes and Vela for confidential compute – does not require its own blockspace. A proposed three-year roadmap will be presented to the Horizen DAO Special Council and the larger community for input and governance before execution.

KEY DATES (UTC) Completed: Bridging ZEN from Base to the Horizen L3 is disabled

Now: Users begin to bridge all assets from Horizen to Base

Nov 4, 13:00: Horizen L3 to Base bridging closes; snapshot taken

Nov 5, 18:00: Base Denim activates; the L3 stops processing transactions

Nov 7 (approximated): snapshot published for review

Nov 15 (approximated) onward: DAO distributes remaining balances on Base

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Horizen Discord: https://discord.gg/xAwdQGnc7

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Website: horizen.io

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Telegram Community Group: https://t.me/horizencommunity

Telegram News Channel: https://t.me/horizenglobal

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If you need help, use our official Discord ticketing system

2025 was a redefining year for Horizen.

In 2025, Horizen made the decisions that define long-term relevance. The team clarified what privacy must mean in an onchain world, sharpened who Horizen is built for, and aligned the network around real users, real businesses, and real developers - not abstract ideals. These choices shaped everything that followed, from product direction to ecosystem design, and set the foundation for sustainable growth.

The results of that work became visible toward the end of the year, with milestones that mark the beginning of Horizen’s next chapter.

A major emphasis was placed on research and discovery. Throughout the year, the team developed a structured understanding of market dynamics, emerging privacy technologies, regulatory realities, competitive approaches, developer needs, and real-world user needs. This targeted work was designed to answer one question:

Where can Horizen win, and why?

That research-driven approach created clarity and alignment across product, engineering, and ecosystem growth. It sharpened Horizen’s positioning around practical and regulatory-compliant privacy, and clarified how privacy must function inside open ecosystems like Ethereum and Base, not outside of them.

Several initiatives that will define Horizen’s future were born from this approach, including initial product designs like Horizen Confidential Compute Environment (HCCE). 

By choosing to prepare deliberately, Horizen entered mainnet not as a project searching for relevance, but as a network launching with purpose.

One of the most significant milestones in Horizen’s history took place in 2025 with the successful migration of the ZEN token to Base, accompanied by the introduction of a new tokenomics model designed to support Horizen’s next phase of growth.

This migration marked a strategic shift in how Horizen participates in the broader onchain ecosystem. By migrating ZEN to an ERC-20 asset on Base, Horizen moved from operating as an isolated Layer 1 to becoming a first-class participant in the Ethereum ecosystem. The migration unlocked immediate access to deep liquidity, native DeFi integrations, and composability with the tools, protocols, and capital that developers already use. More importantly, it removed friction for builders, creating a faster and more credible path from idea to live application. 

Just as importantly, the transition was executed with ZEN holders front and center. Horizen delivered a seamless, user-friendly claiming experience that enabled holders to move their assets safely to Base with confidence.

Throughout the migration, the team worked closely with major exchanges to ensure uninterrupted access to ZEN, preserving liquidity and minimizing disruption for the community. This combination of thoughtful execution and broad exchange support ensured continuity, accessibility, and trust at a critical moment of change.

Together, these efforts laid the economic and infrastructural foundation for Horizen’s next phase of ecosystem growth, one that is fully embedded in the Ethereum and Base environments, without leaving its community behind.

That foundation was completed with the launch of the new Horizen chain at the end of the year. With this launch, Horizen finalized its transition to a fully EVM-native, privacy-enabled Layer 3 blockchain on Base. 

By launching on Base, Horizen positioned privacy where it matters most: alongside deep liquidity, mature tooling, and a rapidly growing developer and user base. The new chain will enable a practical and compliance-friendly path to private onchain activity, allowing users and businesses to participate without exposing sensitive strategies, positions, or data. Rather than treating privacy as an add-on or an edge case, Horizen established it as a foundational capability that works natively within real onchain workflows.  

The launch also introduced the first cohort of ecosystem applications and infrastructure partners, reinforcing Horizen’s focus on execution, composability, and ecosystem readiness from day one.

We’re live!

Join us as we celebrate Horizen’s mainnet launch on @Base. Tune in to hear from special guests and core team members as they share insights on what’s ahead.

x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Most importantly, the mainnet launch marked a clear transition in Horizen’s trajectory. The network moved from preparation to participation, from laying foundations to enabling real usage. With the core infrastructure live, Horizen is now positioned to shift its focus toward growing adoption, supporting builders, expanding the ecosystem, and delivering the next wave of privacy-enhancing capabilities, including staking and confidential compute.

In parallel with these significant infrastructure milestones, Horizen launched the Thrive Builder Program in 2025, establishing Horizen’s long-term commitment to ecosystem growth.

First announcements from our Horizen x @thriveprotocol builder funding program drop next week

These aren’t just ideas - they’re applications already building on our infrastructure

The privacy-first builders we’ve been waiting for are here.

Backed by a community-approved allocation of one million ZEN over five years, the program established a structured path for builders to ship privacy-preserving applications that drive real ZEN usage.

The program introduced milestone-based funding accountability and transparent oversight while prioritizing high-impact use cases across DeFi AI gaming and governance. 

Meet the first builders funded by the Horizen x @ThriveProtocol Builder Funding Program:

- @LighterIM - ZK-enabled DeOTC protocol for private, compliant OTC trading
- @datahubz - Automated compliance workflows (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA) powered by Hubz
- @tachyonpe -

Together, the program and the new Horizen chain create a reinforcing loop: infrastructure designed for privacy-aligned applications, paired with a funding mechanism built to bring them to life. The program is already supporting a growing set of live and in-development applications, including:

Zendex as a private DEX designed to stop MEV bots from front running trades

Tachyon enabling cross chain transfers that break the surveillance trail

DataHubz delivering enterprise compliance through cryptographic proof instead of trust based audits

Nyra bringing private perpetuals trading onchain

Obscura powering social trading with verifiable PnL

Lighter.IM enabling ZKP based on and off ramps

AdPriva building verifiable ad engagement with zero knowledge proofs

Gamblor introducing provably fair gaming with privacy built into every hand

Learn more about the program

Further Supporting Builders and the ZK EcosystemThroughout 2025, Horizen hosted and supported a select number of workshops and hackathon-style events, in collaboration with the ecosystem partners such as zkVerify. These efforts focused on education, experimentation, and early developer engagement.

Notable activations included:

Fhenix

ETHDenver participation through SporkDAO

SocialConnect New Delhi

0xCairo

Berlin Hackathon

The Horizen community voted in on 7 ZenIPs (ZEN Improvement Proposals) in 2025, including:

ZenIP 42406 Addendum: Proposing a Bold Leap Forward to Base for $ZEN and EON – 99.7% in favor

ZenIP 42407 Addendum: Horizen 2.0 Tokenomics Proposal – 99.4% in favor

ZenIP 42410 Horizen Developer Grants Program - Thrive Partnership – 100% in favor

ZenIP 42411: A Treasury Management Framework for Horizen DAO – 100% in favor

Exchange Listings and Marketing Allocation – 99.2% in favor

The community also voted to elect new Special Council members to maintain strong governance and continuity throughout the year.

March Cohort Special Council Election

September Cohort Special Council Election

Check out all ZEP IPs and their details.

With the core network live and ecosystem taking shape, Horizen enters its next phase focused on deepening utility, expanding adoption, and delivering privacy capabilities that scales with real-world demand. 

A major milestone on the near-term horizons is the release of the Horizen Confidential Compute Environment (HCCE). Designed to make privacy-preserving computation accessible without complex cryptography, HCCE introduces a powerful new execution layer that enables developers to run sensitive logic securely and verifiably onchain. This will unlock a broad class of applications, from institutional workflows to privacy-sensitive business use cases. This will mark a significant step forward in making privacy practical at scale. Read the HCCE whitepaper to learn more.  

ZEN staking will be relaunched in Q1 2026, re-establishing a crucial participation and incentive mechanism for the Horizen community. 

The ZEN staking is designed to strengthen network security, reward long-term participation, and reinforce ZEN’s role as the economic backbone of the Horizen ecosystem. This will turn passive holding to active engagement, tying network growth more closely to community involvement. 

At the same time, the Horizen ecosystem will continue to expand. More new applications are preparing to go live across DeFi, business infrastructure, gaming, and emerging onchain categories. As more teams deploy and iterate, Horizon’s ecosystem will move from early formation to sustained momentum, driven by real usage and real demand for privacy-enabled execution. 

Together, these developments signal a clear shift in Horizen’s trajectory. With infrastructure in place, aligned incentives coming online, and a growing pipeline of applications, Horizen is positioned to turn its vision of practical, compliant privacy into durable, onchain reality.

Stay tuned for what comes next.

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