Investors have been basking in the euphoria of a cryptocurrency that caters for the human need for privacy which in turn, gives people a measure of control over their affairs. ZenCash was that currency; but a bigger, better deal is here –Horizen (ZEN)!
Actually, the switch from ZenCash to Horizen is only a matter of nomenclature for it is akin to what obtains when one changes coats in cold. The new coat boasts of greater warmth, thus, much more value.
Why the Old Had to Give Way
The developers saw fit to improve on the privacy project that the ZenCash cryptocurrency was. However, the intended touch up takes an entirely new turn as the project receives a complete change of name and even of logo!
This line of action was a conscious and deliberate one as Rob Viglione’s tweet …Our brand expansion represents our community’s perspective with a refined strategic vision while providing a hint to our heritage …, affirms. It shows deliberate attempts to expand on the opportunities there are to foster the fundamental human right to privacy on a worldwide basis.
Horizen is an offshoot of ZenCash, the privacy-oriented crypto, which was founded by Rob Viglione in 2017. The zk-SNARK proofing system that Horizen uses makes it possible for senders and receivers of Zen to keep their addresses and transactions from public scrutiny, if they so choose.
Thus, much more than a mere rebranding, Horizen is the development team’s avenue for brand expansion.
As gleaned from Viglione’s official announcement of the change in brand name on Youtube, it is their chance to return to their core values which include their vision and mission.
Privacy_ a basic human right, and empowerment, are of central importance to the platform. Having given much thought to how the technology behind ZenCash can benefit people more, the team must have realized that surely, being solely crypto was regarded as a waste of technological resources thus, the expansion.
Therefore, Horizen is a move beyond being a mere currency to being a technological frontier. It is the flag that flaunts the new vision of the privacy-focused development team. The christening from ZenCash to Horizen took place on the 22nd of August 2018.
Why Stick to the Old When You Can Have Better?
Horizen also uses secure and super nodes, in addition to normal nodes. According to a Medium post, secure nodes are similar to normal nodes in that they verify distributed ledger transactions, however there are some key differences.
In order to operate a Horizen secure node, an operator must possess at least 42 Zen, which acts as a source of collateral.
Super nodes are like juiced-up versions of secure nodes — they also require processing, memory, and reliability minimums, however to a greater extent. Super node operators require 8GB of RAM, 96% reliability, and a reserve of 500 Zen.
This greater collateral commitment further ensures that super node operators have serious skin in the game, with the value of 500 Zen at roughly $10K USD.
These higher level nodes allow for greater ability for community voting and governance, as best interests are verified and malicious actors are kept to a minimum.
That is why, through the platform’s attention on iOS wallet, Secure node system improvements, and Super node implementation, it can be said to be well on its way to giving more value to the people whose fundamental rights it seeks to promote.
The Horizen ticker (Zen) awards 70% to miners, 10% to operations/developers, 10% to secure node operators, and 10% to super node developers.
New Incorporations and Future Considerations
Horizen currently boasts of various privacy-focused applications other than the sole privacy oriented crypto it had had from inception. It would also begin to incorporate a voting system, a sidechain with smart contracts and a messaging system with high level of privacy.
The end to which this new shift was made is to incorporate censorship-resistant publishing capacities to the program, and while at that, the ability to generate revenue through ownership of your personal data.
It is also a plus that this new program houses the ability to create privacy based applications, and DApps are a sure way to get started on that.
Horizen’s DApps include ZenChat, a secure messaging platform, ZenPub, an anonymous document publisher, and ZenHide, a domain fronting platform.
The prospects of the platform for future considerations include DAO Treasury Protocol-level Voting System, Dandelion++ Integration for Network, Stack Anonymity, and Scalability Solution, IPFS produced on secure Nodes.
No Worries! The New Bears a Tinge of the Old
Nevertheless, neither the old Zen cryptocoin nor its ticker changed. The cryptocurrency, its wallets, addresses, operations, nodes and mining protocols, remain the same; with the same symbol (ZEN).
Digital Currency Group, Info Pulse, Code Particles, Blue Frontiers, Grayscale, Genesis, Input and Output and many more are a few out of the list of the partners this move for a better world has drawn to itself.
Horizen is definitely set to change the world through its offer of much more value.
This is great news for investors of the now obsolete Zencash because initiating and perfecting a swap would not be a poser. And this is all thanks to the fact that Horizen is not a hard fork!
