Horizen launched its mainnet on Base on December 9, 2025, marking its transition to an EVM-native Layer-3 focused on privacy-enabled decentralized applications. The move follows a token migration to an ERC-20 ZEN completed on July 23, 2025, and reframes Horizen’s strategy toward auditable privacy within a regulated Layer-2 ecosystem.
Migration mechanics and Layer-3 architecture
Horizen executed a multi-step migration that began with a snapshot of native ZEN balances on the legacy chain and concluded with ERC-20 token distribution on Base. Users who retained assets on the legacy EON network—including wrapped ZEN (wZEN) and DeFi positions—were required to withdraw those holdings before July 23, 2025, because those assets were not automatically migrated, with a claim portal provided for balances left on the legacy mainnet as the legacy Horizen chain and EON network were wound down.
Operating as a Layer-3 on Base allows Horizen to deliver private execution for dApps while leveraging Ethereum’s security and the Layer-2 scaling features of Base. The network applies advanced zero-knowledge proofs to provide confidentiality without forfeiting verifiability, using zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge (ZK-SNARKs) so parties can prove statements without revealing underlying data. Horizen also built network-level tooling for transaction screening and risk scoring intended to reduce regulatory friction and the delisting risk commonly faced by privacy-focused assets.
Horizen’s new contracts and the migration process underwent independent security audits by Cantina, which reported no critical issues. By deploying on Base—implemented as an Optimistic Rollup that benefits from Ethereum’s scaling roadmap, including EIP-4844-related improvements to Layer-2 data costs—Horizen positions its privacy stack within an ecosystem that already supports broad project activity and stablecoin infrastructure, while the relaunch remains explicitly scoped to Base rather than multiple Layer-2 providers.
The launch puts Horizen’s privacy primitives inside a mainstream EVM stack while attempting to reconcile confidentiality with network-level compliance features. For VASPs, custodians and token issuers, the practical implications include migration deadlines, new contract attestations and operational adjustments for custody and auditing that must be incorporated into process reviews and record-keeping.
Compliance teams should verify migrated token holdings, contract audit artifacts and the status of former EON positions as immediate follow-up actions. Horizen’s transition underscores the operational work required when legacy chains are retired and privacy features are re-architected within regulated Layer-2 ecosystems.