Horizen Launches Mainnet on Base

Horizen has officially migrated its mainnet from an independent proof-of-work blockchain to an EVM-native rollup operating as a Layer-3 on Base, focusing on privacy-enabled and regulatory-ready applications. This transition follows the migration of its native token, ZEN, to an ERC-20 asset on Base. The move grants developers access to Base's liquidity and ecosystem while utilizing familiar EVM tooling, offering lower costs and faster finality while inheriting Ethereum security.

Launch partners like Caldera, LayerZero, and Stork are providing essential infrastructure. Horizen is supporting builders through a five-year, 1 million ZEN token developer funding program, with initial applications focusing on private DeFi and business solutions. The roadmap includes reintroducing ZEN staking and launching a Confidential Compute Environment in Q1 2026, which will use Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for secure, private on-chain computation.

This shift addresses the liquidity and reach limitations of independent blockchains. Horizen aims to bring regulatory-compliant privacy tools to Base, allowing selective disclosure features using standard Solidity frameworks, positioning itself as a privacy-first ecosystem for real-world business activity.

(Source：BeInCrypto)