There has been a high level of competition when it comes to blockchain networks within the crypto sphere, all of which aim to offer something a bit different and improve upon the capabilities of their predecessors.
Horizen is one such network and is a secure, interoperable blockchain ecosystem that is supported by the largest and most decentralized, multi-tiered node infrastructure.
As a means of seeing exactly how it works and how it became so large, we will be going over the Horizen network’s functionality, pros and cons, and how you can run a Network ZEN node with ease.
Key Points:
- Horizen is a blockchain network that puts a specific emphasis on privacy and has its own native cryptocurrency known as ZEN.
- The project was originally created as a hard fork from the privacy-focused cryptocurrency known as Zcash.
- Horizen provides optional privacy to everyone whether it be in your own dapp, blockchain, or ZEN transactions.
- NOWNodes is a blockchain-as-a-service provider that will enable you to easily connect with a Horizen node.
What is Horizen Network?
If you are curious about what Horizen (ZEN) is, it’s essentially a privacy-focused cryptocurrency and blockchain network that has the main goal of solving scaling and security issues found in competing blockchain networks.
The network utilizes zero-knowledge proofs as a means of enabling ZEN to be untraceable and unwatchable between the users that aim for a high level of privacy.
How did the Horizen network become so large?
The Horizen node network is multi-tiered, and what this essentially means is that not every single node fills the exact same role within the network. In fact, there are three tiers of nodes, all of which complete specific functions.
Ever since its release, Horizen’s massive and geographically dispersed node network has aimed to improve scalability, reliability, security as well as overall speed.
As such, Horizen has three types of nodes that can be created, including:
- Regular Full Nodes – also dubbed as “The Standard” nodes, these are all public blockchain nodes that are typically wallets that run an instance of Horizen’s core software. They are not incentivized.
- Secure Nodes – these are also dubbed as “The Enhanced,” where they enable security and resilience of the Horizen network, with enhanced point-to-point encryption and decentralization, through employing specific enhancements and functions more than a regular node. The incentive they have is 10% of the block reward. There are currently 41,322 active Secure Nodes active at the time of writing.
- Super Nodes – these are dubbed “The Supercharged” and bring major improvements to the overall ecosystem, which enables a sidechain platform for an unlimited amount of blockchains and dApps. These nodes can also allow tracking and payment of Secure Nodes to be moved on-chain or in the protocol. They also have an incentive of 10% of the block reward. There are 4,594 active Secure Nodes at the time of writing.
These numbers are essentially what makes Horizen’s node network one of the largest within the crypto space.
The main reasons why ZEN Networks became so large are due to the fact that they provide privacy through cutting-edge cryptography, responsible privacy, Treasury DAO, solid tokenomics, as well as BlockDAG and Side Chain Protocol.
Pros and Cons of Horizen Node
Pros of Horizen Node
- Due to the economic incentives given for Secure Node and Super Node operators, Horizen has the most nodes of any blockchain network.
- Horizen offers a high level of security through the utilization of cutting-edge cryptography, which also enables responsible privacy.
- It is easy to get started and set up a Horizen Node, which makes it an even more appealing network.
Cons of Horizen Node
- There was, at one point, a vulnerability with zk-Snarks. But Horizen team incorporated the fix within days of finding out about the issue.
- There are many competing projects within the privacy-sphere of crypto that aim to do something similar.
How to Run Horizen Node?
GET ACCESS TO HORIZENIf all of this has piqued your curiosity, and as such, if you have gathered a high level of interest in launching your own project on Horizen, such as a decentralized application (dApp), wallet, or even a decentralized exchange (DEX), well, In that case, you will need to gain access to a ZEN node. This node will allow you to a heightened level of functionality.
To make this process as simple as possible, we have created a step-by-step guide that will aid you in setting things up quickly.
- Step 1: Visit the official NOWNodes website
To start things off, you can get access to a Horizen (ZEN) node through the usage of NOWNodes. In order to get started, all you have to do is navigate to the official NOWNodes website, enter your email address and click on the “GET FREE API KEY” button.
- Step 2: Connect
Now, you will need to visit the official documentation, where you will be able to find the code through which you can connect to the node.
For example, the get block code for ZEN will look something like this:
- curl –location –request GET ‘https://zen.nownodes.io/api/v2/block/<block height|block hash>’ \
- –header ‘api-key: your_api_key’
Note that there are numerous other commands, all of which are available on the documentation page.
- Step 3: Analyze the network
After you connect to the ZEN network, you can now review all of the data that you require from the Horizen node, such as the block height, transactions status, wallet balances, and more.
Conclusion
Hopefully, now you have a heightened perspective as well as a heightened level of understanding as to why Horizen (ZEN)’s network became as big as it did and will only carry on increasing over time. From its outstanding security and privacy features to the ease of use, Horizen is a project worth taking a second look at.
Remember that you can utilize NOWNodes as a means of connecting to a Horizen (ZEN) node with ease.
GET ACCESS TO HORIZEN
