Throughout most of computing history, processing power has been treated as scarce - either concentrated in centralized service providers or limited by the efficiency of unreliable chained execution. Zero-knowledge (ZK) technology changes this equation. By enabling proofs that verify complex computations, verifiable computing becomes an available and abundant resource. This shift is the foundation of the Boundless protocol and brings wide-ranging economic implications.
---
Lowering the barrier to entry
Abundance appears because modern ZK proof systems can now be produced efficiently on standard, widely available devices - ranging from gaming PCs to MacBooks. With frameworks like RISC Zero zkVM, non-trivial proofs are no longer constrained by specialized infrastructure.
Most importantly, the software package is free and open-source. Anyone with spare hardware can participate as a provider, offering permissionless or centrally controlled computing proofs. This creates a dynamic, global pool of participants, ensuring that the supply of verifiable computing expands naturally with demand.
---
Market results in the Boundless ecosystem
For users and protocols (students):
Availability of computing means consistent access at predictable costs.
Unlike blockchain-based gas markets, Boundless avoids severe volatility.
Students can benefit from an on-demand marketplace for immediate needs or secure verifiable service agreements (VSAs) to ensure capacity and long-term price stability.
For professional savers:
Creating value goes beyond raw hardware.
Major operators compete through cost efficiency, resource optimization, reliability, and providing guaranteed service levels.
They can also coordinate decentralized provider pools or aggregate advanced VSAs.
For traders and market engineers:
Treating computing as a tradable commodity opens financial layers.
Traders can enable liquidity and price discovery while providing tools like fragmented VSAs.
These tools allow participants to hedge risks, reflecting the mechanisms of mature commodity markets.
---
Flexibility through competition
By positioning verifiable computing as an open commodity, Boundless ensures that market forces handle supply and demand. High demand calls for more participation, stabilizing prices and preventing monopolistic control. This ongoing, unauthorized competition keeps computing costs low and reliability high, forming a decentralized defense system for the proof market.
In the long term, this abundance paves the way for broader adoption of ZK-backed systems, accelerating growth across Web3.
