Rob Viglione
Rob Viglione is the Co-Founder and CEO of Horizen, the development studio behind several leading Web3 projects, including zkVerify, Horizen, and ApeChain. As an early visionary in the Web3 space, he co-founded Horizen Labs to drive the mission of leveraging blockchain technology to create a more secure, decentralized, and equitable world. Formerly a trained physicist, mathematician, and military officer, Rob’s experience with satellite radar, space launch vehicles, and combat support intelligence shaped his understanding of blockchain’s potential to transform global systems. Beyond leading Horizen, he is a passionate blockchain educator and speaker, and serves as the Co-Founder and Team Lead of the Zen Blockchain Foundation, promoting the development and adoption of decentralized technologies.
Rob Viglione Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
-
Co-Founder and CEO
-
Project Manager
Academic History
-
Advanced Management Program
-
Ph.D., Finance
-
M.B.A., Finance
-
B.S., Physics and Actuarial Mathematics
CURRENT APPOINTMENTS
Board Member, Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association
President, Zen Blockchain Foundation
Volunteer of Blockchain Strategy, The Seasteading Institute
Advisor, ETHLend
Horizen Labs is a leading blockchain development company that makes blockchain technology accessible for businesses and developers.
Under Rob Viglione’s leadership, Horizen has launched major ecosystems including Horizen, EON, ApeCoin, ApeChain, the Otherside NFT collection, and Opal.
The company is currently developing a stealth modular blockchain project focused on zero-knowledge proof (ZK) verification, and Rob also serves as an adviser to several innovative tech startups worldwide.
CRYPTO & BLOCKCHAIN EXPERTISE
Rob is an authority in crypto-finance, asset pricing, and blockchain innovation, and teaches university courses on Bitcoin and blockchain applications.
He is deeply focused on Web3 scalability, blockchain efficiency, and zero-knowledge proofs (zk-rollups), developing solutions to enhance network scalability, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
Rob co-founded ZenCash, a decentralized platform for private transactions, communications, and document publishing, and serves as President of the Zen Blockchain Foundation, a nonprofit overseeing the Horizen blockchain project.
EARLY CAREER
Rob began his career as an Operations Research Analyst at Lanmark Technology, performing large dataset mining and statistical analyses for operational assessments.
He then served as an Advanced Analyst at Tecolote Research, managing cost analyses and economic studies.
Most recently, he was a Project Manager at the United States Air Force, overseeing three independent engineering programs with a combined $450K budget and contributing to projects impacting a $20 billion space intelligence program.
MEDIA PRESENCE
Rob Viglione has been featured in CoinDesk and Cointelegraph, and has appeared as a guest on Real Vision, sharing insights on blockchain innovation, Web3 technologies, and cryptocurrency trends.