What Is Horizen (ZEN)?
Horizen (ZEN) is the token of Horizen, a project that started in 2017 as a privacy coin and now operates on Base. It launched on May 23, 2017, as ZenCash, a fork of Zclassic, which itself was a fork of Zcash. The project was renamed Horizen on August 22, 2018. For eight years ZEN ran on its own proof-of-work mainchain with the Equihash algorithm, and it had no ICO and no premine.
On July 23, 2025, Horizen moved ZEN to Base, the Ethereum layer 2 network built by Coinbase, as a standard ERC20 token at a 1:1 ratio. The old mainchain and the EON sidechain were discontinued. On December 9, 2025, Horizen launched its own layer 3 appchain on Base for privacy-focused applications. ZEN is used for governance, staking, and access to applications in the Horizen ecosystem.
The supply cap did not change with the migration: ZEN has a maximum supply of 21 million tokens. As of October 2026, about 18.41 million ZEN are in circulation, and the market capitalization is around $119 million, according to CoinGecko.
What Is a Horizen Wallet?
A Horizen wallet today is a wallet for the ZEN token on Base. Since the migration, ZEN is an ERC20 balance attached to an ordinary 0x address on Base, the same address format used for ETH and every other token on that network. The old mainchain no longer processes transfers, so a mainchain-only wallet cannot move ZEN on Base.
In a self-custodial wallet, the private keys stay on your phone, not on an exchange server. Only the holder of the keys can sign a ZEN transfer, and the recovery phrase is the only thing needed to restore access.
Gem Wallet is a self-custodial Horizen wallet that stores your keys in the secure hardware of your phone, Apple Keychain on iOS and Google Tink on Android. One 12-word recovery phrase restores your Base address together with your ZEN, your ETH for fees, and every other token on it. Gem Wallet is also listed as a wallet for ZEN in the Horizen fact sheet on Bitcoin.com.
ZEN After the Migration to Base
| Parameter | Horizen mainchain (until 2025) | Base (since July 23, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Network type | Own proof-of-work blockchain (Equihash) | Ethereum layer 2 |
| Token standard | Native coin | ERC20, 18 decimals |
| Address format | Starts with zn (transparent) | 0x, 42 characters |
| Fee paid in | ZEN | ETH on Base |
| Maximum supply | 21 million ZEN | 21 million ZEN |
| Block explorer | Horizen explorer (discontinued) | Basescan |
Data source: Horizen migration documentation, as of October 2026.
ZEN on the EON sidechain moved automatically: the same EON address holds the same ZEN balance on Base, and nothing needs to be claimed.
ZEN on the mainchain has to be claimed. The holder signs the message “ZENCLAIM” plus the destination 0x address with the old mainchain key, and the claim contract releases the same amount of ZEN on Base. Horizen names only one official page for this, horizen.io/zenclaim. There is no deadline, and each claim needs at least 0.000004 ETH on Base for the transaction.
Shielded ZEN stopped moving earlier. The ZEN 5.0.0 hard fork disabled all transactions involving shielded addresses on February 7, 2024, more than a year before the migration.
How ZEN Transfers and Fees Work on Base
A ZEN transfer is an ERC20 token transfer, so Base charges the fee in ETH, not in ZEN. A plain transfer of ZEN uses about 34,700 gas. On October 11, 2026, with Base gas at 0.006 gwei and ETH at $2,505, that came to roughly $0.0005 including the layer 1 data fee. Base gas prices change with network load, so the exact fee differs from one transfer to the next. Read more about how layer 2 networks cut fees.
The one hard requirement is ETH on Base. A wallet with ZEN and zero ETH on Base cannot send anything, even the ZEN itself. Gem Wallet shows the network fee before you confirm a transfer, and you can buy ETH on Base with a card or swap another token for ETH without leaving the app.
ZEN Address Format and Contract Check
Your ZEN address on Base is a 0x address of 42 characters, for example 0x4A7c…9e21. It is the same address that holds your ETH on Base and matches your Ethereum address, because both networks use the same address format. The networks stay separate: ZEN sent on Base arrives only on Base.
Two checks prevent most losses:
- Network. When you withdraw ZEN from an exchange, select Base. An old zn address from the Horizen mainchain cannot receive ZEN anymore.
- Contract. The official ZEN contract on Base is 0xf43eB8De897Fbc7F2502483B2Bef7Bb9EA179229. Tokens with similar names exist, for example Horizon (HRZN) on Ethereum, a separate project. Before you receive or swap a token called ZEN, compare its contract on Basescan.
Swap ZEN Inside Gem Wallet
ZEN trades on decentralized exchanges on Base, including Aerodrome and Uniswap, as well as on several centralized exchanges. Gem Wallet routes ZEN swaps through its built-in DEX aggregator, which compares on-chain liquidity on Base and shows the expected amount before you confirm.
This gives ZEN holders a direct route into the rest of the Base ecosystem: you can swap ZEN for ETH to cover fees, for USDC to hold a dollar balance, or for any other ERC20 token on Base, and swap back the same way. Every swap is signed on your phone with your own keys.
Download Gem Wallet and keep your Horizen ZEN on Base under your own keys.
