Horizen Appchain Testnet is Live with DarkSwap: Private, Bot-Proof DeFi Arrives on Base

In DeFi, the promise of openness has a hidden cost: vulnerability. Every trade is visible, every strategy exposed. MEV bots exploit your moves. Front-runners take your edge.

As one of the earliest projects focused on blockchain privacy, we’re now rewriting the DeFi playbook.

Following the successful migration of our native token ZEN to an ERC-20 on Base, we have officially launched our appchain testnet on Base, debuting Singularity’s DarkSwap as the first application in our new privacy-focused ecosystem.

This milestone represents the foundation of a modular, privacy-first ecosystem where fair, bot-proof trading becomes the norm, and traders can finally operate without fear of exploitation.

Why Privacy Matters in DeFi Right Now

The open ledgers of Ethereum and its L2s make every detail of your trade visible: asset type, size, timing, even intent. That transparency, while great for verification, is also the reason why MEV bots thrive. They see your moves before they’re finalized, and they pounce.

Horizen’s new appchain takes a different approach: confidentiality with compliance. We’re teaming up with Singularity to launch DarkSwap, a bot-proof, fully confidential trading layer on Horizen’s appchain on Base. By concealing trade sizes, prices, and asset details, DarkSwap ensures no one can front-run or hijack your transactions. For institutions, it means strategies aren’t exposed. For everyday users, it means fairer execution.

DarkSwap on Horizen Appchain: Privacy With Purpose

It’s privacy with purpose: to protect traders, ensure fairness, and open the door for more sophisticated DeFi use cases that institutions would otherwise shy away from.

Key features now live on Horizen Appchain Testnet:

• Bot-proof execution – Eliminates sandwich attacks, front-running, and other MEV exploits.

• Full confidentiality – Assets, sizes, and prices remain hidden.

• Familiar workflows – Deposit and withdraw from the same wallet, no extra complexity.

• Compliance-ready – Generate zero-knowledge proofs for selective disclosure when required.

From the user’s perspective, you still interact with familiar DEXs like Aerodrome and Uniswap . DarkSwap handles the privacy layer behind the scenes, making the experience seamless.

The Bigger Picture

This launch follows the successful migration of ZEN to an ERC-20 token on Base in July - a pivotal moment that transitioned Horizen from its UTXO-based blockchain into a modular, Ethereum-aligned architecture.

This launch of appchain tesnet with DarkSwap is proof that privacy and compliance aren’t opposites - they can reinforce each other. More practical applications are in the pipeline, setting the stage for Horizen’s appchain mainnet launch on Base in late 2025. In the meantime, DarkSwap is setting the standard for what private, composable DeFi can look like.

Try DarkSwap Now

👉 Try DarkSwap today on Horizen Testnet

👉 DarkSwap Tutorials

Horizen Testnet Appchain

• Network Name: Horizen Testnet (Base Appchain)

• New RPC URL: 

• Chain ID: 84532009

• Currency Symbol: ETH

Base Sepolia Network

• Network Name: Base Sepolia

• New RPC URL: 

• Chain ID: 84532

• Currency Symbol: ETH