# Technical Deep Dive

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Similar to ZK-Rollup protocols, Vessel consists of three major components: the sequencer, the prover, and the contract.

A user typically initiates a request to the sequencer (with certain exceptions like deposits and withdrawals that may incur on-chain transactions, though these are less frequent). The sequencer inspects and processes the request, responding to the user instantaneously, much like other CEX servers.

The key difference is that the sequencer also produces witnesses while processing user requests and streams them to the prover. Using these witnesses, the prover generates SNARK proofs to attest that the sequencer is operating correctly —— ensuring it doesn’t mint funds out of thin air, doesn’t move assets between accounts without authorization, and doesn’t fake or replay orders. Meanwhile, the off-chain state is updated according to the rules encoded in ZK arithmetization.

The SNARK proofs, along with a digest of the off-chain state, are committed to the smart contract for verification and finalization. All user assets are held in an on-chain contract called the "Vault" and can only be moved in ways specified by a valid proof.


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