Horizen DAO: Governance and Innovation with ZenIPs

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation to buy or invest in ZEN. I work for the Horizen Foundation, but this article does not represent an official source of information from the foundation. It is important to conduct your own research before making any financial or investment decisions.

This article is also available in French.

Horizen’s ambition has always been to become a DAO, with the community at its core. Even though the community was already engaged through ZenIPs, the DAO reinforces this approach by establishing a framework.

The Role of the Special Council in Horizen DAO Governance

A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) allows stakeholders in an ecosystem to participate in the governance of a project. The Horizen DAO enables developers, node operators, and token holders to propose improvements, discuss ongoing proposals, and vote on them.

Discussions start well before proposals are made to gauge community sentiment. We will return to these steps in the second part of this article.

Horizen 2.0 marks a new stage for Horizen, which remains a DAO supported by the Horizen Foundation. For more information on Horizen 2.0, I recommend this series of articles.

The Special Council

The special council ensures the security of the Horizen DAO and oversees the foundation, focusing on protecting the DAO and the entire Horizen ecosystem. This can include emergency operational meetings to address any potential threats to the DAO, protocols using $ZEN cryptocurrency, token holders, or the foundation itself. The special council acts as a frontline defense, intervening before and after a ZenIP is submitted for the final vote by ZEN holders.

The initial special council consists of absolute stars of Web 3, who are:

• Brian Rose: Founder and host of London Real, a media platform dedicated to technology, entrepreneurship, and personal development.
• Marwan Alzarouni: CEO of the Dubai Blockchain Center, strategic advisor at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and founding member of the Dubai Electronic Security Center.
• Benjamin Charbit: CEO and co-founder of Darewise Entertainment (Animoca Brands), specializing in blockchain-based video games.
• Hervé Larren: CEO of Airvey, an investment consulting firm specializing in digital assets and blockchain technologies.
• Jemma Xu: Co-founder of RedBlock Capital and Singularity, advising on blockchain growth and financing strategies.
• Elias Ahonen: Author and blockchain consultant, market analyst, and COO at Roqqu Europe.
• Leila Salieva: Co-founder of the Web3 marketing agency Sombrero.

These experts bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in blockchain, enhancing the governance and security of the Horizen DAO and its ecosystem.

What It Takes to Be a Special Council Member in Horizen DAO

Given their responsibilities, candidates must have significant experience in the Web3 industry and a strong interest in the Horizen ecosystem, skills in community management and security, an entrepreneurial spirit, and excellent communication and writing skills.

To ensure decentralization, no more than two members of the special council can be employed by, own, or have interests in the same entity. Contractors of the Horizen Foundation are excluded from this limitation if the stipend is the only contractual relationship between the member and the foundation. At least five members must be non-American. No candidate with conflicts of interest that could prevent them from acting in the best interest of the Horizen DAO and/or foundation should be elected to the special council.

Elections of the Special Council Members

Although the first special council was selected, elections must take place every six months starting in February 2025.

The first elections, for the March 2025 cohort, will begin on February 15, 2025, at 12:00 UTC and continue for seven days until the election is complete. The process is repeated in this manner every six months.

ZenIP: Driving Innovation in the Horizen Ecosystem

ZenIP stands for ZEN Improvement Proposal, a democratic procedure allowing stakeholders to act for the project’s benefit. ZenIPs are divided into technical and non-technical categories.

Phases of a ZenIP

Phases 1 to 3: Proposition, Research, and Modifications

Introduce an improvement idea and measure community opinion. Research verifies if the concept has been explored before. Supported by relevant sources, the idea is published on Discourse in the IDEA phase, with at least seven days for community feedback.

Phases 4 and 5: Drafting the Proposal, Revisions, and Moderator Review

The idea is published on Github or the “governance” section of Discourse with DRAFT status. Proposers have 30 days to respond to moderators’ questions, a period that can be shortened.

Phase 6: Administrative Review

The Special Council reviews the proposal with up to three revisions and may request further clarifications.

Phase 7: Voting

Voting occurs on Snapshot, respecting the threshold requirements. ZEN delegation is possible to reach this threshold, and the status becomes PROPOSED.

Phase 8: Final Validation Period

A final 30-day phase confirms compliance with the foundation’s governance documents and relevant laws.

Phase 9: Implementation

The idea becomes reality. If the ZenIP includes code, the PR is merged on GitHub. For budget-related proposals, necessary funds are transferred. The status becomes IMPLEMENTED (for testnet) or FINAL (for mainnet).

Important ZenIPs

Significant ZenIPs include:

• ZenIP 42201: Proposed the sidechain model leading to Zendoo, Horizen’s ZK-based cross-chain protocol.
• ZenIP 42204 and 42207: Phased out anonymous transactions on Horizen, ensuring ZEN is no longer considered an anonymous cryptocurrency.
• ZenIP 42406: Approved by the community, marking the transition to Horizen 2.0, focusing on Horizen EON, the chosen EVM for ZK developers.

Community Engagement

Discourse and Discord are vital platforms for Horizen DAO. Discourse is ideal for presenting and discussing ZenIP ideas, while Discord offers dynamic, real-time conversations. Both platforms support community engagement and collaboration on future ZenIPs.

Join the Horizen community now and participate in the democratic future of blockchains!