Zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is a method of proving the truth of a statement without revealing any related information, which is often used in blockchain and privacy tools. The creation of ZKPs usually requires specialized hardware and a deep understanding of cryptography.
Succinct developed a protocol on Ethereum that simplifies this process, allowing developers to request proofs from a shared prover network. This approach makes it easier to integrate ZKP into applications such as rollups, bridges, AI, and games without requiring specialized hardware or complex cryptographic knowledge.
In this article we will discuss what Succinct (PROVE) is, how it works, its advantages, tokenomics, and its future potential.
Article Summary
- 💡 Zero-Knowledge Proof innovation: Succinct makes it easy to create and verify zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) with SP1 without specialized hardware.
- 🚀 Succinct OP Technology: Uses ZK validity to replace fraud-proof, increase scalability and speed up withdrawals.
- 🔗 Decentralized Prover Network: Succinct’s prover network connects developers and provers through a two-sided marketplace for verification efficiency.
- 🌍 Cross-Chain Usage: ZKP Succinct can be verified across multiple blockchains, enabling interoperability without a third party.
- 💰 PROVE tokens support payments, staking, and governance, and power the Succinct ecosystem.
What is Succinct (PROVE)?
Succinct is a platform designed to make zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) generation easy. Users can generate ZKP proofs locally or leverage the decentralized prover network, SP1, for more optimal performance.
The platform serves as a two-sided marketplace, where developers can submit proof requests for software verification, while hardware operators can become provers and get rewarded. Succinct helps address scalability, privacy, and verification issues in blockchain applications by making ZKP creation and verification more efficient and accessible.
Understand more about what Zero-Knowledge is and how it works at Pintu Academy!
Succinct Origins
Succinct was founded in 2022 by Uma Roy and John Guibas, with background expertise in cryptography, systems, and blockchain development. The Succinct team consists of 33 professionals who are experts in development, business, and marketing. Most members are from the US and have experience at MIT, Google Brain, as well as leading hedge funds.
Succinct Labs CEO, Uma Roy, managed to attract major funding for the project, including a significant investment of over $43 million in the March 2024 funding round led by Galaxy. In addition, the network supports 35 additional protocols with 1,700 unique programs that have a value of more than $4 billion in funding. Succinct also raised $55 million in Series A funding led by Paradigm and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon.
How does Succinct work?
Here is an explanation of how Succinct works, including the core technology and how the decentralized prover network functions.
- SP1: Succinct Processor 1 and Prover Network
SP1, or Succinct Processor 1, is a virtual machine for zero-knowledge (zkVM) developed by Succinct Labs. SP1 is designed to make it easy for developers to create ZKPs without the need to write complex cryptographic circuits.
Developers simply use a programming language like Rust or C++ to write a program, then compile and send it through SP1. Provers in the Succinct network will run the program and generate verifiable proofs. With SP1, ZKP can be applied in a variety of real-world applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, and decentralized infrastructure.
- Succinct OP Technology
OP Succinct allows upgrading from optimistic rollups to ZK validity rollups with minimal code changes. This technology replaces slow fraud-proof windows with faster ZK proof-based security, reducing withdrawal times.
- Cross-Chain Verification
The proofs generated by SP1 can be verified across multiple platforms, such as Ethereum, Solana, Layer 2, and mobile platforms. This enables a trustworthy infrastructure for cross-chain messaging, data bridges, and oracles without the need for trusted third parties.
How Prover Network Succinct Works
Here is how Prover Network Succinct works:
- Two-Sided Markets
Prover Network Succinct is a decentralized protocol that connects two parties: requesters and provers. Requesters are developers or applications that require ZKP proofs, while proversare independent participants that generate those proofs. When there is a request for a ZKP proof, provers will compete and bid to take the job by offering the best price or fastest turnaround time.
- Matching and Solving Process
Matching between the proposer and prover happens off-chain through a system called “auctioneer”. All these interactions are done with fast Remote Procedure Calls (RPC), so there is no waiting for block confirmations or slow interactions in-chain. This ensures a fast and responsive experience, where the prover can see the proof request submitted and start bidding immediately.
While matching and bidding happen off-chain, settlement and verification take place on Ethereum. The Auctioneer periodically sends ZKPs to ensure that all processes go correctly, from who wins the bid to how the proof is generated. All funds remain locked in an Ethereum smart contract, which ensures the security of the funds and the freedom to withdraw them at any time.
- Backend Architecture
The backend architecture is designed so that every activity on the network can be independently verified. Auctioneers maintain transparent records of user balances, proof requests, and completed jobs. To ensure that all data is verifiable, the auctioneer creates Merkle proofs for every read and write, which are then periodically posted to Ethereum.
There is a dedicated prover service that reads from this database and uses SP1 to generate ZKPs from new states of the network, such as balance changes, job assignments, and proof submissions. These proofs are posted to Ethereum to allow verification by anyone without relying on trust in the auctioneer itself.
Problems that Succinct Can Solve in the Blockchain Context
- Scalability Crisis in Blockchain Systems
Decentralized blockchains rely on distributed consensus, where each participant verifies transactions in a redundant manner. While this ensures secure execution, the system is slow, expensive, and unable to handle large demands, thus hindering its commercial adoption. This makes blockchain far less efficient than centralized alternatives.
- Fragmented Evidentiary Infrastructure
The creation of zero-knowledge proofs requires specialized knowledge and large computing resources, with many applications building their own infrastructure. This approach is inefficient and difficult to scale as development teams struggle to coordinate large numbers of GPUs. This creates an imbalance between supply and demand.
- Lack of generalized evidentiary solutions
Traditional ZK proof systems are too focused on specific use cases, requiring specialized circuits and deep expertise. This fragmentation hinders the creation of a unified proof system that can be used generally. Developers have to spend a long time building solutions that are only applicable to their specific applications.
- Centralization of Verification
Without a decentralized provenance infrastructure, applications must rely on centralized provenance services or develop expensive in-house systems. This creates a point of failure and limits blockchain’s ability to provide the trustless assurance that is a key value in such applications.
Usefulness of Succinct Technology
Succinct offers innovative solutions that support a wide range of applications, both on and off the blockchain, by making it easier to create and verify ZKP. This technology enables more efficient and accessible ZKP implementation in a variety of fields. Some of the key areas of use for Succinct’s technology include:
- Cross-chain bridges: Verifying data or messages between different blockchains without relying on a trusted third party.
- ZK-rollups: Helps rollups to improve scalability by moving proof generation to a decentralized prover network.
- Verifiable calculations: Proving that off-chain processes, such as AI inference, simulation, or financial calculations, are executed correctly and without manipulation.
- Light clients: Enables lightweight blockchain nodes to verify on-chain data using efficient ZK proofs, without the need to download the entire blockchain history.
Tokenomics PROVE
The PROVE token is a utility token that supports the Succinct crypto project used for payments, staking, and paying provers. As an ERC-20 token issued on Ethereum, PROVE can be used for multiple purposes, namely:
- Payments: Used to pay for proof generation by rollups, bridges, or DApps.
- Staking: Prover gets staking to participate in auctions and get jobs.
- Delegation: Token holders can delegate to the prover and earn a share of the prover’s earnings.
- Governance: PROVE holders vote on protocol changes and funding decisions.
Key Differences: Succinct Network vs PROVE Token
| Aspects | Succinct Prover Network | PROVE Token |
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Complete protocol platform and infrastructure | The original cryptocurrency of the network |
| Function | Coordinate prover and demand globally | Facilitate payments, staking, and governance |
| Scope | Entire ecosystem including SP1 zkVM and proof contest | Specific utility tokens in the ecosystem |
| Role | Provide infrastructure proving and market services | Facilitate economic and security incentives |
| Usage | Developer sends program for proof generation | Users stake tokens, pay fees, and participate in governance |
| Comparison | Similar to Ethereum (protocol platform) | Similar to ETH (the network’s native token) |
Succinct Future Potential (PROVE)
The Succinct project positions itself as the foundation of the era of ” provable software“, where cryptographic verification becomes an integral part of everyday digital interactions. Its development plans include:
- Improved the performance of its ZK virtual machine SP1 zkVM through advanced research of proof system optimization.
- Expanding network capacity with better prover coordination mechanism, and
- Provide enterprise-grade tools so that non-blockchain applications can also utilize ZKP.
Its long-term plans also include full decentralization of governance, where control will shift from the founding team to the community of PROVE token holders.
PROVE Staking
Staking PROVE allows users to earn points and rewards that can increase their chances of participating in airdrop programs from the Succinct ecosystem. Users who stake or delegate also get iPROVE or stPROVE as proof of participation, as well as part of the revenue of the prover they support.
Succinct itself has set up airdrop allocations for early network contributors and participants, making staking a strategic way to gain additional benefits in the future, including potential free token distributions from connected projects.
As the network expands, Succinct aims to become the primary infrastructure for applications that require cryptographic verification. This includes media content authentication, deepfake prevention, and privacy-preserving AI. The vision also aims to restore trust in digital interactions through secure verification. If successful, the PROVE token will become a fundamental utility in verified computing, supporting an ecosystem that extends beyond the traditional blockchain.
Start Crypto Investing at the Pintu
Now that you know the latest developments of the Succinct (PROVE) project and the potential of its ecosystem, you can start investing through the Pintu app. Here’s how to buy PROVE crypto assets on Pintu:
- Enter the Pintu homepage.
- Go to the Market page .
- Search and select the crypto asset Succinct (PROVE).
- Enter the amount you wish to purchase, and follow the rest of the steps.
Conclusion
Succinct (PROVE) offers an innovative solution to simplify the creation and verification of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) in blockchains, enabling easier integration without the need for specialized hardware. By using the decentralized Prover Network and OP Succinct technology, the platform seeks to improve scalability efficiency and enable interoperability between different blockchains.
PROVE tokens also play an important role in this ecosystem, used for various purposes such as payments, staking, and governance. With plans to expand capacity and increase decentralization, Succinct has the potential to become an important part of the blockchain ecosystem, especially in applications that require cryptographic verification and data privacy.
Disclaimer: All articles from Pintu Academy are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute financial advice.
Reference:
- Binance Academy. What Is Succinct (PROVE)? Accessed November 12, 2025
- Bitget. Succinct (PROVE): Decentralized Zero-Knowledge Proof Infrastructure. Accessed November 12, 2025
- NFT Evening. What is Succinct ($PROVE): A Guide to the ZKP Infrastructure Network. Accessed November 12, 2025
- MEX Blog. What is Succinct Prover Network? Complete Guide to PROVE Token and ZK Infrastructure. Accessed November 12, 2025