Horizen migrates native ZEN token to Base to launch privacy-enabled appchain
Horizen has officially migrated its native ZEN token from its blockchain to Base, marking the start of its transition into a modular privacy-enabled decentralized finance appchain.
- Horizen has migrated its native ZEN token to Base as an ERC-20 asset.
- ZEN will power a privacy-enabled DeFi appchain with Singularity integration.
- DAO-led governance and DeFi vaults mark a new direction under Horizen 2.0.
In a July 24 announcement, Horizen (ZEN) said it had completed the migration of its native ZEN token to Base as a standard ERC-20 token. The move enables integration with decentralized exchanges such as Aerodrome (AERO) and Uniswap (UNI), expands liquidity options, and marks the shutdown of both its legacy UTXO mainchain and EON sidechain.
ZEN powers Horizen 2.0 on Base
Horizen 2.0 introduces a privacy-first Layer 3 architecture built on Base. Users can now claim their ERC-20 ZEN and participate in new DeFi strategies. Wallet-level privacy features will be activated in the coming days through a partnership with Singularity, allowing stealth-enabled trades inside standard wallets.
The updated circulating supply stands at 17.25 million ZEN, up from 16 million before migration. Of the added tokens, 750,000 went to the Horizen DAO and 500,000 to the Horizen Foundation. The max supply remains 21 million.
ZEN launched with trading pairs across Aerodrome (ZEN/WETH, ZEN/cbBTC) and Uniswap (ZEN/USDC), with vault-based yield strategies set to follow. These include liquidity vaults and single-sided staking options designed to support the ZEN ecosystem and capture AERO emissions.
Governance, compliance, and institutional support
The migration was approved by Horizen’s DAO under ZenIP 42405 with near-unanimous support. The DAO will oversee treasury operations and a five-year developer grant program distributing up to 1 million ZEN.
The token swap was supported by Coinbase and Bybit, which automatically switched user holdings to the new ERC-20 version. Halborn and Cantina’s security audits revealed no serious problems with the claim tools or migration contracts.
Horizen Labs previously raised $11 million across 2019–2021 from investors including DCG and Kenetic Capital. Grayscale’s Horizen Trust (OTC:HZEN) also migrated its assets to Base. The trust will evaluate continued support based on adoption levels by December 2025.
ZEN was trading at $8.28 on July 24, down 13% on the day, with a market cap of $137.3 million.
