Horizen: In this article, we cover a detailed review of Horizen. How does Horizen work & Are important features?
About Horizen
Horizen is a zero-knowledge-enabled network of blockchains powered by the largest node infrastructure in the industry. Blockchain interoperability is enabled by the Zendoo protocol, which uses SNARK-verification and allows for complete flexibility in sidechain type, consensus, speed, and privacy. Cryptographic verification of networked chains offers massive scale, and the network currently supports up to 10,000 sidechains with a throughput limit of 10,000,000 TPS.
Zendoo makes Horizen a permissionless network of blockchains. Developers can deploy their blockchains within the ecosystem using a variety of SDKs. The first set of SDKs, Blaze and Latus, deploy blockchains based on IOHK’s provably secure Ouroboros proof-of-stake protocol. Blaze offers high-speed chains that declare their own certifiers and can run up to 1,000 TPS, while Latus uses a recursive SNARK composition for full decentralization. The next set of SDKs will include EVM integration for Ethereum smart contract compatibility.
The Horizen Point Table
| Coin Basic | Information |
|---|---|
| Coin Name | Horizen |
| Short Name | ZEN |
| Circulating supply | 14,152,250 ZEN |
| Total Supply | 14,152,250 ZEN |
| Support | 24/7 |
| Official Project Website | Click Here To Visit Project Website |
Horizen Price Live Data
Who Are the Founders of Horizen?
The founders of Horizen are Rob Viglione and Rolf Versluis.
Dr. Rob Viglione is the co-founder and CEO of Labs and the co-founder and team lead of the Zen Blockchain Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance, an MBA in Finance and Marketing, and a Bachelor’s in Physics & Applied Mathematics. Additionally, Rob has been an advisor to some of the most transformational blockchain projects globally, including Aave, and he previously worked as a scientist in the space industry.
Rolf Versluis is the co-founder and executive advisor of the Zen Blockchain Foundation. He is an experienced business owner in the IT industry and owns a mid-size mining operation. In the past, Rolf worked at Cisco Systems, the semiconductor industry, and as a nuclear-trained officer in the US Submarine force.
Jane Lippencott was a member of the founding team and co-author of the original whitepaper. She is now a partner at a16z Crypto, the digital asset unit of venture investing giant Andreessen Horowitz, and was previously an associate at Winklevoss Capital. Jane is a 2021 VC Cohort at All Rise, an advisor at Teller Finance, and a mentor at the Open Web Collective, as well as a mentor at Celo and Katapult Accelerator.
She is a contributor at Nakamoto.com. She worked as a mentor at Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC), a mentor at dLab and a mentor at Ethereum Classic Labs, an advisor at Unbounded Capital, a mentor at Techstars, and was a member of the Board at Cord.
Horizen Invests in the continued R&D of blockchain technology
Horizen strives to push technological boundaries and bring new products and services to those who need them most. The culture is research-driven, and they believe in the development of open source technology. The R&D and Engineering teams are building an open, permissionless and multipurpose blockchain platform that will help make the world a better place.
Below is the original whitepaper along with updated Application Platform paper and the project-specific contributions to the Distributed Ledger Technology industry.
What Makes Horizen Unique?
Horizen is known for its expertise in zero-knowledge-based blockchain technology. Their team has made several advancements in the cryptography space, including their zero-knowledge privacy tool library, called Ginger-Lib, and for the release of one of the first zero-knowledge-based scalability solutions.
Their blockchain network provides a unique sidechain solution that allows developers to build their own scalable blockchains with the ability to support tens of thousands of transactions per second while maintaining true decentralization across tens of thousands of nodes. Horizen also offers unique optional privacy features.
This is a fully decentralized zero-knowledge-enabled blockchain ecosystem that offers massive scalability and optional privacy features. The features Zendoo, a sidechain system that enables the deployment of thousands of independent sidechains that communicate with the mainchain and each other.
Use the most powerful cross-chain protocol to build your blockchain
The cross-chain protocol, Zendoo, is designed for developers to build blockchains and applications that solve today’s real-world problems with the flexibility to capture tomorrow’s opportunities.
Permissionless & fully decentralized
Powered by the Horizen blockchain to leverage the security of a robust PoW public blockchain with the largest distributed node network ensuring maximum reliability and resilience.
Auditable transparency with privacy
Zero-knowledge enabled cross-chain protocol allowing auditable AND privacy-preserving blockchains – bridging a major gap for real-world adoption.
Flexible with customizable crypto-economy
All-in-one SDKs with a modular design allow developers to efficiently deploy fully customized private or public blockchains that meet their specific needs.
Enjoy complete design freedom
Best-in-class developer toolkits enable you to fully customize your blockchain with scalability and flexibility unmatched by others.
Horizen Reliable, Scalable, Secure, Powerful
This is powered by the most robust and secure public infrastructure enhanced with multiple security layers.
The distributed node system ensures the scalability, reliability, security, and speed of its network. This is also secured by an improved consensus with enhanced protection against 51% attacks.
How Is the Horizen Network Secured?
Horizen utilizes a combination of Proof-of-Work in their mainchain and Proof-of-Stake in their sidechains. Each PoS sidechain built on the network is pegged to the mainchain and runs simultaneously. The mainchain acts as a ‘truth engine’ for all blockchains built on the network.
The uses zk-SNARKs to allow the communication between sidechains and the mainchain without having the mainchain know the sidechain logic and the internal structure. This approach keeps the mainchain completely decoupled from the sidechain’s logic and allows the whole system to scale possible applications and global transaction throughput. On the other hand, the usage of zk-SNARKs within the sidechains enables developers to build applications that preserve the users’ privacy, allowing the development of a wide variety of real-world use cases to be built on their network.
The blockchain network uses secure nodes which are TLS encrypted to enable secure inter-node communication. ZEN uses the Equihash consensus algorithm, which supports ASIC mining and offers shielded transactions that can mask the sender, recipient, and value transacted.
Horizen Team
Horizen Conclusion
Horizen stands as an outstanding and progressive player in the realm of blockchain technology. Their zero-knowledge network of blockchains backed by one of the industry’s largest node infrastructures is an exceptional achievement in interoperability and scalability of blockchain systems.
Zendoo protocol’s use of SNARK verification has brought with it a whole new level of flexibility for creating and operating sidechains within Horizen ecosystem. This flexibility includes sidechain type, consensus mechanisms, transaction speed and privacy features – providing users with a platform capable of meeting a diverse array of applications and use cases.
The stands out among blockchain platforms by its capacity for massive scale through cryptographic verification of networked chains. Support for up to 10,000 sidechains and 10M TPS capacity ensure that will meet even the demands of data-intensive and high-throughput applications.
Horizen FAQ
What is Horizen?
This is a network of interconnected blockchains that prioritizes privacy and scalability. It boasts a vast node infrastructure and employs the Zendoo protocol for blockchain interoperability.
What is the Zendoo protocol?
The Zendoo protocol is a key feature of Horizen that enables blockchain interoperability. It utilizes SNARK (Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) verification and offers complete flexibility in terms of sidechain type, consensus mechanisms, transaction speed, and privacy features.
How does Horizen ensure privacy?
The privacy features are enhanced through zero-knowledge proofs and cryptographic techniques. These mechanisms allow for private transactions and data while maintaining the security and integrity of the network.
What is the significance of blockchain interoperability?
Blockchain interoperability allows different blockchains to communicate and share data seamlessly. In case, the Zendoo protocol facilitates interoperability, enabling the network to host a variety of sidechains with diverse features and use cases.
How many sidechains can Horizen support?
This is designed to support a substantial number of sidechains, currently up to 10,000. This scalability allows for a wide range of applications and services to coexist within the Horizen ecosystem.
