What I Learned Looking Into Boundless ($ZKC) and Its ZK Approach

I’ve been spending time looking into scalability projects again, partly because the Fed’s expected rate cut has me thinking about what kind of infrastructure might actually sustain the next wave of liquidity in DeFi. One project I dug into recently is Boundless ($ZKC), and I thought I’d share what stood out to me.

The biggest shift Boundless introduces is in how transactions are handled. Normally, every node in a blockchain has to re-execute every transaction, which slows throughput down to the weakest node. Boundless flips this by using independent provers to generate zk-proofs, which chains then verify onchain. Instead of duplication, you get proof-based validation, which at least in theory, dramatically increases capacity.

Another piece that caught my attention is its universal design. It isn’t aiming to be just another scaling solution tied to one ecosystem. Boundless positions itself as a zk layer that can plug into multiple blockchains, from L1s to rollups, without requiring changes to their core design. That interoperability angle feels important, especially as ecosystems keep fragmenting.

The recent Bitget listing gave it some market exposure, but what I found more interesting is the bigger question it raises: can zk-proofs realistically become the default across DeFi, or will networks remain siloed with their own scaling strategies?

For me, Boundless was a reminder that the future of DeFi may depend less on the next hot chain and more on whether universal infrastructure layers can actually gain adoption.