Horizen Labs

Horizen Labs is a layer-0 public blockchain that enables the formation of a fully decentralized sidechain ecosystem using its zk-SNARKs-enabled verifiable cross-chain transfer protocol called Zendoo. It provides an SDK that allows developers to create their own custom private or public sidechains that communicate with the Horizen mainchain via Zendoo. Through independent sidechains, developers have complete control over the economics of their network and application as well as its computational resources. The Horizen mainchain utilizes a proof-of-work consensus mechanism and has its own native token ZEN, which is used to pay for transaction fees. Horizen uses a multi-tiered node system with over 40,000 fully distributed nodes that ensures the security, reliability, and speed of the network. The Horizen network combined with its sidechains has a maximum throughput of 100,000 transactions per second.

It also offers an EVM-compatible sidechain called Horizen EON , which utilizes a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The sidechain is designed to bring EVM compatibility to the Horizen ecosystem and provides developers using Solidity (a smart contract programming language) the ability to deploy custom logic to the blockchain without changing the protocol.

In May 2024, Horizen launched zkVerify, a dedicated zero-knowledge proof verification network designed for settlement optimization. It allows blockchain networks to offload the computationally heavy process of proof verification, enabling them to focus on their primary functionalities. zkVerify reduces the cost of proof verification by up to 91% and seamlessly integrates with existing blockchain ecosystems and multiple SNARK proving schemes, providing a developer-friendly environment. 

Key customers and partnerships

Horizen partnered with Ankr to use the latter’s remote procedure call (RPC) node infrastructure for Eon. The infrastructure will enable EON to handle any request load, making it more scalable, efficient, and supportive of a wide variety of use cases, including DeFi, gaming, and NFTs. In addition, Ankr will provide a suite of tools, including the Liquid Staking SDK, Web3 Gaming SDK, and AppChains-as-a-Service, for developers to create and deploy smart contract applications on EON. The company also formed a strategic collaboration with Pyth Network (September 2023), a provider of oracle services, to source accurate and trusted on-chain market data to EON, and Gateway.fm (May 2024), a node provider, to develop zkVerify.

Funding and financials

The company’s last funding round was in August 2021, when it raised USD 7 million in seed funding led by Kenetic Capital. It had planned to use the funds to develop tools for developers and businesses to establish their own blockchains and dApps.