ZenIP 42410 Horizen Developer Grants Program - Thrive Partnership

Preamble

• ZenIP: 42410
• Title: Horizen Developer Grants Program - Thrive Partnership
• Owner: Gustavo Fialho
• Status: Final
• Type: Non-Technical
• License: MIT

Abstract

This proposal establishes a partnership with Thrive Protocol to manage Horizen's developer grants program. The program will allocate 1 million ZEN tokens over 5 years to fund high-impact applications on the Horizen L3 Appchain, focusing on privacy-preserving technologies and ecosystem growth.

Motivation

With Horizen's migration to a Base L3 Appchain, the ecosystem requires quality applications that leverage privacy technology capabilities and drive ZEN token utility. A structured grants program managed by an experienced provider will accelerate ecosystem development and attract developers to build on Horizen.

Specification

Funding Structure

• Total Allocation: 1,000,000 ZEN tokens over 5 years
• Annual Cap: Maximum 200,000 ZEN per year
• Average Project Funding: $50,000 to $100,000 in ZEN tokens
• Target Projects Year 1: 50 projects

Funding Sources

• Community Grants: 250,000 ZEN (from approved tokenomics allocation)
• Incentives/Participation: 750,000 ZEN (from approved tokenomics allocation)

Project Categories (Priority Order)

1. Privacy-Centric DeFi Systems (40%): Confidential financial services using ZK, TEE, FHE, or MPC technologies
2. Verified AI and ML with Privacy (30%): Decentralized AI applications with privacy preservation
3. Gaming Platforms with Enhanced Privacy (20%): Games incorporating ZK proofs and verifiable randomness
4. Governance with Privacy Capabilities (10%): Decentralized identity and voting systems

Funding Pools

• Genesis (40%): Novel applications driving significant transaction volume
• Boost (40%): Proven projects adapted to leverage Horizen capabilities
• Scale (20%): Adoption and awareness campaigns

Milestone Structure

• Project Acceptance: 10% - Project accepted and good faith starting effort
• Milestone 1: 20% - Smart contract(s) live on Mainnet
• Milestone 2: 30% - Early traction and key onchain impact
• Milestone 3: 40% - Significant usage growth (10x from baseline)

Performance Requirements

• Minimum 70% of available funds allocated to milestone committed projects
• Minimum 70% of project milestones achieved by committed timelines
• Performance measured annually by credibly neutral reviewers

Success Metrics

• Total Value Locked in ZEN (Primary)
• Transaction Volume in ZEN
• Monthly Active Wallets
• Active Smart Contracts/dApp usage

Advisory Board

Members:

• Rolf Versluis - Co-Founder and Horizen Developer Growth Lead
• Gustavo Fialho - Horizen Community Manager
• Arman Aurobindo - Horizen Foundation DevRel Engineer
• Michael Pastko - Horizen Foundation Growth Lead
• Domenico Cusumano - Product Manager for Horizen
• Tyler Logsdon - Horizen Finance
• Gwen Regina - Horizen Business Development

• Board participation is voluntary, and board members will not be compensated for their contributions to the board. Responsibilities:

• Refining funding rules and contribution validations
• Overseeing reward allocation and milestone tracking
• Veto rights on Thrive funded projects
• Time Commitment: 1 hour/week pre launch, 30 minutes/week post-launch

Service Agreement

Thrive Responsibilities

• Complete grants program management
• Protocol and reviewer fees
• White labeling and custom integrations
• Compliance and security modules
• Dedicated support and automation

Fee Structure

• Thrive receives 20% of total deployed rewards as service fee

Timeline

• Planning Start: After DAO vote approval
• Season 1 Launch: Q3 2025 target

Governance and Oversight

Reporting

• Annual report to Horizen Community on program activity and results
• Transparent milestone tracking and fund deployment

Termination

• Horizen Community may vote to terminate agreement at any time
• 6 month wind down period for grants in progress upon termination

Rationale

This partnership leverages Thrive's demonstrated experience managing grants programs for major crypto ecosystems including Polygon, Arbitrum, and ApeCoin. The structured approach with milestone based funding, performance requirements, and community oversight ensures capital efficiency while accelerating ecosystem development. The funding utilizes previously approved tokenomics allocations, requiring no additional ZEN issuance beyond the established 21 million maximum supply.

Security and Privacy Considerations

The grants program prioritizes privacy preserving technologies aligned with Horizen's core mission. All funded projects must demonstrate commitment to user privacy and security best practices. The milestone based funding structure minimizes risk by releasing funds based on verified deliverables.

Voting

For: Support the establishment of the Horizen Developer Grants Program partnership with Thrive Protocol as outlined in this proposal. Against: Do not support the establishment of this grants program partnership.