Recently, I've seen many people talking about PROVE, but the underlying project is called Succinct. In one sentence, it aims to create a protocol for 'everyone to run zero-knowledge proofs.' It sounds a bit like DePIN, but the core is zero-knowledge technology, not purely hardware sharing.
Why is it interesting? Because zero-knowledge proofs have always been considered the key to blockchain scaling and interoperability, but the problem is that the barrier to entry is too high, with computing power and development difficulty making it daunting for the average person. Succinct wants to lighten this process so that anyone with a computer can participate in verification and packaging. In other words, it aims to turn zero-knowledge proofs into an open network, similar to early Bitcoin mining.
Technically, Succinct's killer feature is SP1. This is a fully open-source zkVM that uses GPU acceleration and recursive optimization to increase proof speed by an order of magnitude while also compressing costs. It is compatible with EVM and supports Rust, making it very developer-friendly. In simple terms, while others are still researching how to implement it, Succinct has already provided you with a toolkit.
More importantly, it has already been operational. Polygon, Celestia, and Avail are all using SP1, having completed over 5 million proofs cumulatively. In the realm of zero-knowledge, such real application cases are inherently valuable.
The funding background is also strong. Succinct has raised a total of $55 million, with Paradigm leading both rounds, and other investors including Robot Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Geometry, ZK Validator, and even the co-founders of Polygon and EigenLayer personally investing. The capital and connections are essentially top-tier configurations.
In terms of token distribution, the team holds 29.46%, ecosystem development 25%, future incentives 23%, investors 10.54%, treasury 10%, and Binance airdrop 2%. In terms of distribution, it ensures long-term incentives for both the team and investors while leaving some space for the community.
So, what is the logic behind PROVE? It aims to distribute the 'computational rights' of zero-knowledge proofs to everyone. Bitcoin represents the decentralization of computing power, Ethereum represents the decentralization of staking, while PROVE's vision is decentralization of verification.
