What is Succinct (PROVE)?

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) allow someone to confirm that a statement is correct without exposing the underlying information. They are widely used in areas such as blockchains and privacy-focused applications, but producing them often requires costly hardware and a deep understanding of cryptography.

Succinct is creating a protocol on Ethereum designed to simplify this process. Instead of building specialized systems from the ground up, developers can request proofs from a shared network of provers. This makes it possible to integrate ZKPs into rollups, cross-chain bridges, AI-driven tools, and games without needing dedicated equipment or specialized expertise in cryptographic engineering.

What is Succinct?

Succinct is building a decentralized prover network open to anyone who needs to request or generate ZKPs. The network acts as a marketplace where developers and applications submit proof requests, and independent provers compete to complete them in exchange for rewards.

It operates as a verifiable application (vApp), delivering the speed and responsiveness of a modern web application while ensuring that all processes are cryptographically secure and verified on-chain.

Succinct Processor 1 (SP1)

SP1, or Succinct Processor 1, is a general-purpose zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) created by Succinct Labs to make proof generation more approachable for developers.

Instead of having to design complex cryptographic circuits, developers can work in established programming languages like Rust or C++. Once their program is ready, it can be compiled and sent to SP1, where provers within the network execute it and produce verifiable proofs of correct execution without revealing any sensitive data.

By removing the requirement for building custom zero-knowledge systems, SP1 makes ZKPs practical for a wider range of uses, including artificial intelligence applications, games, and decentralized services.

About Succinct Labs

Succinct Labs was founded by Uma Roy, John Guibas, and Kshitij Kulkarni, with guidance from advisor Dan Robinson. In early 2025, the team launched the Prover Network testnet to give the community a chance to test its decentralized proof-generation platform.

This setup allows developers to write proofs using Rust and submit them to the network, where distributed provers compete to generate them via SP1. The process improves cost efficiency, maintains high availability, and scales well as demand grows.

The launch also marked the introduction of the PROVE token, which underpins the network’s economy. It serves as payment for provers, secures the protocol through staking, and functions as the system’s primary transaction asset.

Succinct has formed partnerships to strengthen the project’s capabilities. Collaboration with Mantle focuses on improving speed and lowering transaction fees, while work with Galxe has brought ZK raffles into production, demonstrating the technology’s utility in everyday scenarios.

How the Succinct Prover Network Works?

The prover network functions as a two-sided marketplace:

• Requesters – developers or applications seeking ZK proofs
• Provers – independent operators producing those proofs

When a requester submits a job, provers can bid to fulfill it, competing on cost and turnaround time.

Off-chain coordination: Auctioneer

Matching between requesters and provers takes place off-chain through the auctioneer system, which uses fast Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs). This allows provers to see new proof requests immediately and place bids without waiting for blockchain confirmations.

On-chain settlement: Ethereum

While coordination happens off-chain, settlement and verification are handled on Ethereum. The auctioneer submits ZKPs that prove all steps — from bid selection to proof generation — were completed correctly. Funds remain locked in Ethereum smart contracts, ensuring no third party takes custody of user assets.

This split between fast off-chain execution and secure on-chain settlement is central to Succinct’s architecture, combining speed with the trust guarantees of Ethereum.

Backend design

The backend records balances, requests, and completed jobs in a transparent database. Merkle proofs are generated for every update and regularly posted to Ethereum so anyone can verify accuracy.

A dedicated prover service reads from this database, uses SP1 to produce a ZKP of the network’s updated state — including payouts, job assignments, and proof results — and publishes it to Ethereum for open verification.

Key Features of Succinct (PROVE)

1. Proof Contests – An auction mechanism that balances cost and decentralization using an all-pay format, which encourages a broad range of provers to participate rather than letting one dominate by consistently underbidding.
2. SP1 zkVM Integration – Built to work seamlessly with SP1, preventing proof duplication and allowing development in familiar languages, reducing build time from months to days.
3. Global Prover Network – Aggregates computing resources worldwide, from individuals with GPUs to large-scale data centers, creating a competitive and efficient market.
4. Verifiable Application Design – Operates like a high-speed app while settling on Ethereum, keeping all operations independently auditable.
5. Economic Security via Staking – Requires provers to stake PROVE tokens to join proof contests, with penalties for missed deadlines or faulty submissions.

What is the PROVE Token?

PROVE is an ERC-20 token native to Ethereum and central to the Succinct protocol. Its functions include:

• Payment – for proof generation by network provers
• Staking – enabling participation in auctions, with penalties for underperformance
• Delegation – allowing token holders to delegate to provers and share in their earnings, with incentives from the foundation for early contributors
• Governance – transitioning from oversight by a security council to full community-driven decision-making over protocol changes and funding

The PROVE token is listed on many platforms, including BingX, Crypto.com, Binance Alpha and Weex. If you’re looking to list your token on similar platforms, understanding the token listing process and crypto exchange listing fees is essential.

Conclusion

The Succinct Prover Network is positioned as the base for what the team calls the “era of provable software,” where cryptographic verification becomes a standard part of digital systems.

Plans include improving SP1’s speed and efficiency, expanding network capacity with better coordination among provers, and building enterprise-ready tools to open ZKP technology to industries beyond blockchain. Governance will shift progressively to PROVE holders as the system decentralizes.

Over time, Succinct aims to provide the default infrastructure for any service that requires cryptographic proof — from verifying media authenticity and countering deepfakes to enabling privacy-focused AI. In this vision, PROVE becomes a central asset in a future where verifiable computing is embedded into daily digital interactions.

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