Off-chain execution of massive computations with on-chain verification of results—this is a question many people have been pondering.

Not everything should be put into smart contracts. Historical data scanning, complex strategy calculations, cross-chain state judgments, and even AI reasoning—once forcibly on-chain, they either incur exorbitant gas fees or rely on centralized oracles, which become the system's most vulnerable points.

One project has a clear understanding: tasks that can't be handled on-chain are processed off-chain, but the execution results must pass ZK proofs. Contracts can verify these in milliseconds—you don't need to trust a specific server, only trust mathematics.

Since ProverNet launched recently, the positioning of this system has become more distinct. Pico zkVM is responsible for "computing anything," ZK Data Coprocessor handles on-chain historical and cross-chain data queries, and ProverNet connects these needs with real computing power and real costs. The entire network uses a unified token for settlement, staking, incentives, and governance.

Interestingly, from the smart fee mechanisms of leading DEXs to incentive distribution schemes like Euler and Linea, those seemingly black-box on-chain logics have long been running on the underlying verifiable computation layer.

ZK is evolving into a layer of infrastructure that can be repeatedly invoked. When the era of diverse on-chain applications arrives, verifiable computation will become an indispensable foundational capability.