Horizen

Horizen is a leading layer0 public blockchain platform designed for enhanced privacy, security, and scalability. It employs a proprietary protocol called Zendoo, enabling the creation of customizable sidechains that operate independently while interacting with the main Horizen blockchain. The platform's native cryptocurrency, ZEN, facilitates cross-chain transfers and incentivizes network participants.

Horizen's flagship sidechain, Horizen EON, is a fully Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible smart contract platform. Launched in October 2023, EON allows developers to leverage the Ethereum ecosystem's tools and community while benefiting from Horizen's robust infrastructure. The platform aims to empower the next generation of Web3 developers by providing comprehensive tooling, business development assistance, and access to liquidity and grants.

With its focus on privacy and security, Horizen utilizes zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to enable anonymous transactions and data sharing without compromising confidentiality. This feature has applications in various industries, such as secure messaging, supply chain management, and healthcare.

Horizen's decentralized architecture is supported by a vast network of over 40,000 globally distributed nodes, ensuring resilience, speed, and censorship resistance. The platform employs a hybrid consensus mechanism combining Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS), with the Equihash algorithm used for PoW mining.