What is Boundless?

Boundless is a universal protocol designed to provide every blockchain with the power of ZK. It enables independent prover nodes to generate ZK proofs on behalf of layer 1’s, applications, rollups, and infrastructure across all chains. By offloading computation to the Boundless network and verifying proofs onchain, Boundless provides a consistent scalability and interoperability layer without requiring changes to existing networks.

Boundless was founded in 2022 by RISC Zero, the team behind the first RISC-V general-purpose zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM). Boundless was built to address a core limitation of current blockchains: every node must re-execute every transaction, meaning throughput is limited to the slowest node in the network. By verifying proofs instead of re-executing transactions, Boundless shifts blockchains from duplicated execution to proof-based verification, dramatically increasing capacity.

By separating execution from consensus, Boundless introduces a new architectural layer for the blockchain ecosystem - one that scales capacity, strengthens interoperability, and acts as the backbone of ZK proving for every chain.

What makes Boundless unique?

Boundless integrates directly with existing blockchain infrastructure, deploying smart contracts to major networks and serving as a shared proving layer. Since Boundless is not a blockchain itself, it avoids the fragmentation and security trade-offs of launching a new blockchain network. Instead, it inherits the liveness and security guarantees of the chains it serves.

This design allows any chain to offload heavy computation to the Boundless network. Prover nodes execute these workloads offchain, generate verifiable proofs, and submit them for onchain verification at minimal gas cost.

Examples of potential applications include:

• Rollups upgrading from optimistic fraud proofs to ZK validity proofs for faster finality.
• DeFi protocols running complex risk calculations or crosschain balance checks offchain while keeping settlement trustless.
• Crosschain messaging systems verifying state changes without trusted relayers.

By offering universal proving infrastructure to all chains, Boundless improves interoperability and scalability of every ecosystem.

How is Boundless secured?

Boundless inherits the liveness and security properties of the underlying blockchains where its proofs are verified. Proofs are backed by ZKC, which prover nodes post as collateral, creating an economic guarantee of proof delivery.

How much ZKC is there in circulation?

The Boundless protocol launched with 1B tokens at Genesis. Inflation starts at 7% in Year 1, and decreases to a fixed 3% by Year 8. 75% of emissions go to provers, and 25% go to stakers.