What is Horizen (ZEN)

Horizen (ZEN) is a governance/utility token of the Horizen ecosystem, focused on practical privacy and ZK infrastructure. In 2025, ZEN was migrated to an ERC-20 token on Base (an Ethereum L2), while historically the project launched in 2017 as ZenCash (a fork of ZClassic).

Launch 30.05.2017 Base (ERC-20)

Who created it

Rob Viglione Rolf Versluis

Why it was created

To build an ecosystem where privacy and ZK cryptography are used “practically”: for applications, DeFi utility, and governance, not only as a pure “privacy coin.”

How it’s used

  • Participating in governance/voting on ecosystem development
  • Utility within ecosystem apps (access/payment for features, partner integrations)
  • DeFi utility: liquidity, trading pairs, and use in dApp scenarios on Base
  • (Historically) incentivizing and participating in the network’s node infrastructure (Secure/Super Nodes)
  • Migrating assets 1:1 from legacy ZEN to ERC-20 ZEN (via the official migration flow)
  • Potential deflationary mechanic: part of network fees directed to buy & burn

Risks

  • Historical precedent: the ZenCash/Horizen network experienced a 51% attack with double-spend (block reorganizations) — risk to deposits/withdrawals and confidence in transaction finality.
  • Delistings/restrictions on CEXs due to regulatory and compliance risks (especially around privacy themes) → lower liquidity, wider spreads, harder to buy/sell.
  • ZEN has been flagged by exchanges as “higher risk/volatility” (monitoring) → risk of restrictions or delisting at the next review.
  • Architecture shifts: the project has sharply changed direction multiple times (privacy features/positioning/infrastructure) → risk that token utility and demand get reshaped again.
  • Key changes (migrations, emission distribution, feature shutdowns) depend on governance votes and team implementation → risk of unpredictable decisions.
  • Tokenomics and distribution: the “fixed base” and actual issuance/distribution/incentive rules changed after migration → risk of further economic model revisions.
  • Market volatility: ZEN is sensitive to delisting/regulatory/migration news and can drop sharply when liquidity deteriorates.

FAQ

Question: Is ZEN a coin of its own blockchain or a token?
Answer: Historically, ZEN (ZenCash/Horizen) started as its own network (2017), but in 2025 the project migrated ZEN into an ERC-20 token on Base.
Question: How do I know whether my ZEN is legacy or ERC-20 on Base?
Answer: ERC-20 ZEN lives on Base and works as an Ethereum-compatible token; legacy ZEN refers to the “old” format from before migration. A 1:1 transition uses the official migration/claim process.
Question: What is ZEN’s max supply and is there deflation?
Answer: The maximum is 21,000,000 ZEN; additionally, tokenomics mention a buy & burn mechanism funded by network fees.
Question: Who are the founders and when was the launch?
Answer: The project was founded by Rob Viglione and Rolf Versluis; the ZenCash blockchain launched on 2017-05-30 (UTC).
Question: What is Zendoo and why is it in the ecosystem?
Answer: Zendoo is a sidechain/cross-chain interoperability protocol in the Horizen ecosystem; details are described in the Zendoo whitepaper.
Question: What does ZEN do “in practice” for a user beyond trading?
Answer: ZEN is positioned as a governance/utility token: governance participation, utility in apps/DeFi scenarios, and use within privacy-oriented onchain products across the ecosystem.