Horizen’s L3-to-Base bridge is scheduled to close on November 4 at 14:00 Paris time

The bridge closes before transactions stop

Horizen’s ecosystem migration to Base reaches an operational deadline on November 4, 2026. The official notice published on October 23 schedules the bridge out of the L3 to Base to close at 13 hours UTC, or 14 hours in Paris. A snapshot of balances and staking positions is scheduled at the same time. This is a previously announced timetable reaching its deadline, rather than a new decision released this morning. The document retained that date and time when we read it.

Bridge closure and chain shutdown are separate steps. The same notice says the L3 will stop processing transactions on November 5 at 18:00 UTC when Base’s Denim upgrade activates. Horizen says the change breaks compatibility with its existing secondary-chain architecture. The team says it confirmed the issue on Base Sepolia and with its infrastructure provider. That is the project’s explanation, rather than an independent assessment of every chain using a comparable design.

Different assets follow different routes

The notice separates the steps by asset. For ZEN staked on the L3, it asks users to withdraw their position and claim rewards, which stopped accruing on October 25. It then directs readers to Stargate for ZEN and USDC.e transfers and to the native bridge for ETH. The latter ETH route has a stated finalization delay of about two weeks. Links and conditions should be checked directly against official documentation before any transaction.

USDC.e carries a specific warning: it is operated through Stargate and is not covered by the Horizen DAO’s return process. The document also says ZEN deposits from Base to the L3 are already disabled. ETH deposits remain described as available only to provide gas needed for withdrawals. These differences prevent summarizing the migration as a general promise that every asset will be automatically recovered after the bridge closes.

The announced return remains a later process

For balances left on the L3, Horizen plans DAO recovery followed by sending ZEN on Base to the same address, including unclaimed staking rewards. ETH balances above 0.001 ETH are described as eligible for the same route, while smaller balances would not be returned. The indicative timetable targets the second half of November after a one-week public review of the snapshot. A claim recorded in the snapshot must therefore not be confused with funds already available on Base.

Smart-contract wallets need separate attention when the same contract does not exist at their address on Base. The notice provides for coordination with the security team in that situation. Horizen also says it intends to restore a staking program on Base, with details left to later communications. At this stage, the verifiable information concerns published deadlines and procedures. Actual closure, the final snapshot, and fund returns will require separate checks rather than assuming success in advance.