Becoming a Prover

In EthOne, proving is not a background process reserved for infrastructure providers. It is the core way everyday users participate in the protocol: directly, meaningfully, and without middlemen. A Prover is not someone who rents hardware or delegates capital. A Prover is someone who chooses to contribute computation to Ethereum, and is recognized for doing so on-chain.

This section introduces the role of a Prover, not as an abstract technical component, but as a user-facing responsibility that anyone with a browser, a wallet, and some intent can take on. The barriers are low. But the implications run deep.

What Is a Prover?

A Prover is a participant who takes part in EthOne’s decentralized compute process by running a lightweight module (via the EthOne Extension) that helps verify actions computed on Layer 2, with final results committed to Layer 1. The role is active, not passive. Your Extension receives computational bundles, runs them locally, and generates what’s called a micro-proof, a cryptographic summary that attests the computation was done correctly. That proof is then submitted to the Vault Contract on Ethereum Layer 1. If accepted, it contributes to global state updates and, if selected for the current block, the reward is distributed to your Proverss. You can claim these rewards through the Extension or via our Manage Extension web interface, please refer to the official link provided in our Resources section.

You don’t need a validator node. You don’t need to understand zk circuits. All of that complexity is abstracted. What matters is that you show up, you contribute, and the protocol can verify it.

Requirements to Launch a Prover

Proving must remain open, but not trivial. To prevent noise and abuse, EthOne introduces a small entry condition. You must hold 60 $ETHO in your wallet for each Prover you wish to activate. Not staked. Not locked. Just held. This creates a minimal anchor between contribution and resource commitment, without restricting access only to those with technical knowledge or large capital.

However, before creating a Prover, there is one-time setup logic you must complete:

  • Each wallet must register as a Master, a lifetime operation that creates an identity anchor on-chain, enabling that wallet to host one or more Provers.

  • This action is done only once, via a simple transaction initiated on the Manage Prover web interface.

  • After registration, a Master can own multiple Provers, each corresponding to an additional 60 $ETHO in the same wallet.

There are no maintenance fees. No delegation mechanics. Just a clear line between you and your contribution.

Setting Up a Prover

After registering your wallet as a Master, the process of launching a Prover is simple:

  • Open the EthOne Extension

  • Navigate to the Manage Prover

  • The number of Provers will automatically update based on the amount of $ETHO you are holding in your Master wallet

  • Each Prover will be placed in a Pending state and wait for approval

  • At 00:00 GMT each day, the system checks your $ETHO balance

  • If your balance has not changed, all pending Provers will be automatically approved and activated

Once activated, your Prover is live. It operates quietly in the background while your Extension is open, syncing with the Execution Mesh, generating micro-proofs, and submitting them for selection. If you have multiple Provers, they run in parallel, each independently contributing to the network.

To keep your Prover in an active uptime state, you need to connect the Extension to the internet at least once a day.

Proof Lifecycle and Micro-Proofs

Let’s demystify what a Prover actually does in real time.

  • The Execution Mesh continuously emits action bundles, sets of instructions that simulate user or dApp activity.

  • Your Extension picks up these bundles and performs the corresponding computation locally.

  • Once complete, it generates a micro-proof, a minimal, tamper-proof representation of the result.

  • The Extension submits this micro-proof to the Vault Contract on Ethereum for consideration.

  • Each Ethereum block selects one Prover to finalize state. This is done using the PDI (Proving Difficulty Index), PDI reflects how difficult it is for a Prover to be selected – it varies based on network congestion, the amount of $ETHO held, and the Prover’s uptime history.

  • If your proof is selected for the block, the reward is distributed to your Provers. You can claim these rewards through the Extension or via our Manage Extension web interface.

The entire cycle is lightweight. The user experience is invisible. But the contribution is real.

Check PDI section to read more about PDI

The Energy System

EthOne introduces a concept called Energy to model effort and prevent waste. It is not a token. It is not a gas fee. It is a soft quota system that gives computational weight to each proving attempt.

  • Every proof submission consumes a small amount of Energy

  • Every new Master receives a free Energy allocation to get started

  • When Energy runs out, you top it up by converting a small amount of ETH into Energy units

  • The ETH-to-Energy rate fluctuates based on network conditions, ensuring predictable cost

Energy is not designed to punish. It is designed to anchor proving in intention. You don’t prove randomly. You prove because, your system is online, synced, and committed.

Summary Takeaways

  • A Prover is a user-driven compute participant, running micro-proofs through a browser extension

  • 60 $ETHO held = 1 active Prover (no staking required)

  • Registering as a Master is a one-time action, after which you can create multiple Provers

  • New Provers activate at 00:00 GMT daily, never immediately

  • The EthOne Extension handles all computation, proof generation, and submission

  • PDI determines selection for each block, based on fairness, not speed

  • Energy is the soft constraint that gives structure and cost-awareness to your activity

You don’t delegate. You don’t wait. You participate. That is what it means to become a Prover.

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