Who can operate a prover on Starknet — individuals, validators, or only specialized firms?
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Executive summary
Starknet has moved its proving stack to an open-source, high-performance S-two prover that the project and StarkWare say enables independent operators and even client‑side devices (phones, laptops) to generate proofs — a technical foundation that allows individuals, validators and specialized firms to operate provers [1] [2]. Starknet’s decentralization roadmap and SN Stack documentation state the prover is open‑source and part of a push to let “anyone” run components of the stack, while governance and staged staking upgrades still centralize many network responsibilities until later phases [3] [4] [5].
1. Open-source S-two changes the rules of who can run provers
StarkWare and Starknet documentation emphasize S-two is fully open‑source and optimized to run on “everyday hardware,” allowing proofs to be generated on phones, laptops and commodity CPUs [2] [1] [6]. Technical openness and stated performance gains are positioned to lower the barrier so independent operators — whether individuals, small teams or validators — can contribute proving resources rather than only large, specialized firms [1] [2].
2. The SN Stack and public tooling explicitly enable broader operators
The SN Stack release and Starknet blogposts show modular, publicly available components (prov ers, verifiers, CairoVMs) contributed by multiple teams, which Starknet casts as enabling anyone to run parts of the network stack — a clear invitation to non‑incumbent operators [4]. That modularity is presented as a prerequisite for decentralization and for third parties to run provers or shared proving services [3].
3. Roadmap caveat: decentralization is staged and proving remains a phasic responsibility
Starknet’s decentralization roadmap describes multi‑phase staking and operator responsibilities: staking phases (v1→v4) incrementally hand responsibility to validators, and Starknet states validators will eventually “assume full responsibility” for producing, attesting and proving blocks only in later phases. Current messaging notes that proving “will remain centralized under StarkWare” during early phases even as S-two is integrated into shared proving [3] [5]. That means the technical ability for many actors to run provers exists, but protocol governance and operational design may still concentrate proving in practice until later roadmap milestones [5].
4. Shared proving (SHARP) and the practical actor model
Starkware’s Shared Proving (SHARP) framework is the vehicle by which S-two is integrated into production and shared across projects; SHARP is mentioned as the mechanism that will host S-two proving for Starknet and allied systems [7] [5]. Shared proving implies a mix: centralized or consortium operators may run the shared service initially for efficiency, while the open‑source S-two still allows independent entrants to operate their own prover or contribute to SHARP if they choose [7] [1].
5. Who can practically operate a prover today — three realistic categories
- Individuals and hobbyists: Starknet materials claim client‑side proving is now feasible on consumer devices; the SN Stack’s public codebase supports this possibility [2] [4].
- Validators and sequencers: the roadmap ties validators to more responsibilities over time; phased staking will economically couple validators to block attestation and, ultimately, proving [3] [5].
- Specialized firms and shared services: large operators or firms running SHARP or offering GPU/RISC‑V accelerated nodes already exist in the ecosystem and will likely continue to provide production‑grade proving for high throughput and redundancy [6] [7].
6. Competing viewpoints and implicit incentives
Starknet messaging stresses decentralization and that S-two “allows independent operators to contribute,” framing open‑source speed gains as a decentralizing force [1] [2]. The roadmap, however, highlights staged centralization of proving through StarkWare/SHARP initially and a stepwise transfer of operational power to validators only across future staking phases — an implicit agenda balancing rollout safety, performance and the company’s operational control [5] [3].
7. Bottom line for someone deciding to run a prover
Technically, the open S-two prover and SN Stack make it possible for individuals, validators and firms to operate provers [2] [4]. Practically and politically, many proving duties may remain concentrated in shared services or under StarkWare’s operational umbrella until later roadmap phases vest validators with full proving responsibility [5] [3]. Available sources do not mention specific licensing fees, exact hardware requirements, or a current registry for independent provers.