Horizen, a privacy-focused blockchain protocol, has announced a five-year developer funding program allocating 1 million ZEN tokens to support applications on its new Layer 3.
Funding Program Objectives
The funding program focuses on four key areas:
- Confidential financial services (40% of funding) - Privacy-preserving AI and machine learning (30%) - Gaming platforms with verifiable randomness (20%) - Decentralized governance systems (10%)
Individual projects can receive between 50,000 and 100,000 ZEN tokens, with funding released based on verified milestones.
Conditions for Funding Receipt
Funding will be released in stages:
- 10% upon project acceptance - 20% at mainnet deployment - 30% at early traction - 40% after achieving 10x usage growth.
This approach ensures that payments are made only after tangible progress is demonstrated.
Team Reaction and Expectations from the Program
Rob Viglione, CEO of Horizen Labs, stated: "We've known for a long time that incentivizing development has been a problem in web3. Attracting and retaining talent is tough, especially when the path to sustainable funding is unclear. Our 1M ZEN funding initiative is a significant step forward".
Daniel Jacobs, CEO of Thrive, noted: "Privacy takes persistence. It’s not something you solve in a sprint; it’s something you build over time".
The Horizen funding program, scheduled for Q3 2025, underscores the importance of long-term ecosystem development with a focus on user privacy and security.
