EP-42 With Boundless CEO: ZK, PoVW, and Quantum Defense

<p>This episode of the Wu Blockchain podcast features an interview with Boundless CEO Shiv Shankar and RISC Zero Head of Global Marketing Tina Liu, focusing on the Boundless mainnet, the step-change in ZK proof performance, and token economics. Boundless, introduced by RISC Zero, is The Verifiable Compute Layer built in Rust. It provides a componentized stack that simplifies ZK integration, performing computation off-chain while using ZKPs on-chain for cross-chain interactions, batching proofs from heterogeneous systems to reduce on-chain verification costs and improve developer efficiency.</p><p>Key takeaways: ZK has moved from a "research topic" to mass production, with applications compressing Ethereum block-level (single-block) proofs to ~12 seconds. Boundless achieved decentralization on day one, distributing rewards by contribution via Proof of Verifiable Work (PoVW)—emphasizing "more work, more pay" and non-forgability—to avoid single-point oligopolies. During the public test ph...