In the practical application of zero-knowledge proof technology, how to efficiently allocate proof demands to the most suitable provers has always been a key challenge. An innovative decentralized proof network introduces a 'proof competition' mechanism that perfectly solves this problem, bringing revolutionary changes to the entire ecosystem.

The exquisite design of the reverse auction mechanism

The proof competition employs an innovative mechanism known as a reverse auction to allocate proof requests to the currently most efficient provers via auction services. This design not only achieves minimal latency in price discovery but also ensures the security and transparency of transactions through the PROVE token payment system. The entire process first verifies the staking status of the prover and then allocates the request to the lowest qualified bidder through reverse auction.

Dual fee structure ensures fair pricing

The network adopts a carefully designed dual fee structure. All proof requests require a fixed PROVE base fee, and an additional PROVE price per PGU based on the auction results. This design ensures that the fixed costs in the proof process are accurately accounted for, providing users with a transparent and reasonable pricing mechanism.

Intelligent reward distribution system

The fee distribution after proof completion reflects the network's exquisite design. The total fee will be distributed among three parties: protocol fees flow to the treasury, staker fees are allocated to stakers based on the ratio set when the prover was deployed, and the remaining portion belongs to the prover's owner. This distribution mechanism is precisely executed through the VApp state transition function, ensuring a balance of interests among all parties.

User-friendly proof request process

Let's understand the operation of the entire process through a practical case. Suppose Alice operates a ZK Rollup project and needs to request a proof service. Her proof request requires a minimum stake of 200 PROVE tokens to participate in the auction, with a maximum fee of 100 PROVE, a deadline set for 10 minutes, a compression mode selected, and a base fee of 0.2 PROVE paid.

Alice's operation process is extremely simple: first, she transfers PROVE tokens to the auctioneer as payment, and then initiates a proof request that includes the program to be proved, the deadline, and the maximum fee. The request is sent to the network's off-chain auctioneer and matched via RPC calls. The auctioneer assigns the request to the lowest bidder willing to complete the task, with fees not exceeding 100.2 PROVE. After Alice receives the proof, the payment is automatically transferred to the prover, and all balance updates are settled on Ethereum through a single ZK proof, allowing Alice to independently verify the correctness of the transaction.

It is worth emphasizing that even when the auctioneer is offline, Alice can directly withdraw funds from the Ethereum smart contract without needing any off-chain participant's permission, which fully reflects the decentralized nature of the network.

Prover competition and incentive mechanism

The participation of provers is equally convenient and efficient. For example, in the competition for Alice's proof request among three provers: Bob stakes 250 PROVE, Charlie stakes 200 PROVE, and both meet the participation criteria; while Don only stakes 100 PROVE, thus being excluded from the auction.

During the auction, Bob and Charlie bid 60 PROVE and 70 PROVE respectively. Bob wins the auction with the lower bid, gaining 10 minutes to fulfill the contract. Once Bob submits the completed proof within the specified time, Alice's payment of 60 PROVE will be distributed according to the preset ratio: assuming a protocol fee of 1% and a staker fee of 10%, the treasury receives 0.6 PROVE, the stakers receive 6 PROVE, and the prover's owner receives 53.4 PROVE.

Risk control and penalty mechanism

The network has also established a comprehensive risk control system. If Bob fails to submit the proof within the specified time, the request will be canceled, and Bob's stake will face penalties. This mechanism ensures service quality, while Alice can re-initiate the request to find other provers to complete the task.

This proof competition mechanism reduces proof costs and improves service efficiency through market competition, laying a solid infrastructure foundation for the large-scale application of zero-knowledge proof technology.

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