Mainnet is Live
TL;DR
Boundless mainnet is live. With the release of Proof of Verifiable Work (PoVW) and ZK Coin (ZKC), a new era begins where zero-knowledge proofs can power every ecosystem. Provers earn ZKC as the first token mined by proofs themselves, and blockchains gain the capacity to scale like the internet.
The Journey to Mainnet
From the beginning, Boundless has been about solving one core problem: blockchains don’t scale like the internet does. Every node re-executes the same transactions, so adding more nodes doesn’t increase capacity. Zero-knowledge proofs change this model.
ZKPs compress execution into tiny proofs, so that one proof can verify the work for all. Instead of scarcity, blockchains gain the same scaling property as the internet: capacity that grows as more prover nodes join.
This breakthrough was first proven by RISC Zero, creators of the first RISC-V zkVM in 2021. Instead of writing custom circuits for every program, developers could simply write in Rust or Solidity and generate proofs directly. For the first time, ZK was usable at scale and is now seen as a path to scaling Ethereum.
But a zkVM alone does not scale ecosystems. Enter Boundless: the universal ZK protocol that brings verifiable compute to L1s, rollups, applications, and infrastructure across chains, making blockchains internet-scale.
In late 2024, the Collaborative Development Program (CDP) was launched on Boundless by early adopters. By July 2025, Mainnet Beta was live: the first decentralized, permissionless protocol for ZK proofs. Part of this launch was ‘The Signal’, with which Boundless has begun proving entire blockchains like Ethereum and Base. Showcasing what was possible with support from 20+ partners like Stellar, Optimism, and Taiko.
The Boundless community grew alongside the tech. More than 2,500 provers joined the network, 411,000 participants took part in Mainnet Beta, and the Boundless Kaito sale was oversubscribed 18x with over $71M pledged.
Each of these milestones brought us to today: the launch of Boundless mainnet.
Boundless Mainnet: Making Blockchain Internet-Scale
With mainnet live, this vision becomes real. Boundless is the universal ZK protocol that brings proofs to every chain, application, and system. Instead of scarce execution, proofs become an abundant resource.
As more provers join, capacity grows, and blockchains, once bound by computational scarcity, become infrastructure that scales like the internet itself.
A New Type of Mining
At the heart of Boundless mainnet is Proof of Verifiable Work (PoVW) - the first universal incentive mechanism for ZK proving.
Boundless measures the complexity of every proof and rewards provers accurately for the work they contribute. Provers lock ZK Coin (ZKC) as collateral to secure proofs, and they earn ZKC as rewards for generating them. This dual role makes ZKC the backbone of ZK proving everywhere, collateralizing proofs across ecosystems, and powering the incentives that keep the network reliable.
For the first time, a token is mined not by blocks, but by proofs themselves:
- Collateral: Provers lock ZKC to secure each proof.
- Rewards: Provers earn ZKC proportional to their verifiable work.
- Utility: Proofs fuel protocols across every chain and application.
- Economics: As proving demand grows, more ZKC is staked and locked, tightening supply and compounding network security.
ZKC is more than a token. It is the foundation of the proving economy, anchoring proofs across ecosystems and transforming compute into an abundant resource.
Building The Ecosystem of Ecosystems
Blockchains have long been built as separate systems, but Boundless turns those siloed threads into a fabric. Once all chains can be ZK proven, applications are no longer confined to a single network; they can read state across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, and compose across ecosystems in real time.
Pieces of this vision are already live. Boundless has proven Ethereum consensus, integrated Bitcoin through BitVM, and added Solana. L2s like Base, Unichain, and OP Mainnet are already being proven with Boundless, while new hybrid designs like BOB show how ZK-powered fast finality is live in production today.
Behind it all, ZKC secures proofs for all of these networks. Every proof on Boundless is collateralized in ZKC, staked by provers to provide stronger service guarantees. As Boundless proves more blockchains, more ZKC gets locked, acting as the backbone of ZK proving everywhere.
With proofs as a common language, developers can build applications that span ecosystems, aggregating liquidity without trusted bridges, and design with certainty knowing every Boundless-secured chain is a building block. The result is an expanded canvas for innovation, a new design space where crosschain apps become the default, not the exception.
Boundless isn’t just building one ecosystem; it's creating an ecosystem of ecosystems, where ZKC is the connective tissue, powering a new generation of verifiable applications that scale like the internet today.
Powering the new internet economy
Mainnet Beta proved what was possible. Mainnet makes it real.
Boundless is the universal ZK protocol that makes blockchains internet-scale. It closes the gap between what blockchains are today and what they must become - powering a verifiable internet.
Blockchains can now scale like the internet does. With Boundless, that future is here.
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