Points of Focus  

• Horizen 2.0 mainnet is live as zk-SNARK L3 on Base with shielded pools.  
• Legacy ZEN migrates 1:1, backed by $5M from Coinbase Ventures.  
• Horizen joins recent privacy launches like Namada, Aztec, and Railgun across L1/L2s.

Horizen, a privacy-centric blockchain project founded in 2017, activated its new Layer 3 mainnet on Coinbase’s Base network on December 9, shifting from its legacy ZEN chain to an EVM-compatible stack that leverages zk-SNARKs for shielded transactions while tapping Base’s low fees and liquidity.

The relaunch, branded as Horizen 2.0, uses Arbitrum Orbit for the L3 settlement layer and integrates Celestia’s data availability for cost efficiency. Users can now shield assets like ETH, USDC, and BASE tokens in private pools, with selective disclosure for compliance. Horizen’s ZEN token migrates 1:1 to the new chain, retaining staking and governance functions.

Horizen co-founder Rob Viglione said the move addresses “the privacy gap in Ethereum’s ecosystem,” where on-chain transparency exposes users to surveillance despite scaling advances like Dencun and Fusaka. The project raised $5 million in a strategic round last month from Coinbase Ventures and Electric Capital to fund the pivot.

This relaunch marks the latest in a wave of privacy launches across major L1s and L2s. Railgun expanded shielded pools on Arbitrum and Polygon in November. Namada deployed its privacy L1 with Cosmos IBC integration in June; In September, and Aztec activated its privacy-focused L2 on Ethereum in August with Nocturne support. On Solana, Light Protocol’s shielded transactions went live in July.

Like Horizen, like privacy tech

Horizen’s journey is an example of the evolution of privacy tech in crypto. Launched in 2017 as ZenCash, it positioned itself as a privacy coin rival to Monero and Zcash, using proof-of-work mining for its ZEN token.

By late 2018, the project rebranded to Horizen, introduced sidechains, and added support for decentralized applications, shifting focus toward broader privacy infrastructure.

That emphasis persisted until the recent pivot to a Layer 3 on Base. The move comes amid renewed scrutiny of legacy privacy coins: in December 2025, Arkham Intelligence researchers claimed to have deanonymized more than half of all Zcash transactions, showing the scale of the challenges facing shielded protocols on standalone chains.