- Vitalik Buterin proposes RISC-V to streamline Ethereum’s execution layer.
- RISC-V could cut ZK prover cycles in half by replacing inefficient EVM logic.
- Dual VM support may ease Ethereum’s shift to RISC-V without disrupting devs.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the network’s long-standing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with the RISC-V architecture. The move could dramatically improve execution efficiency, particularly in the context of zero-knowledge (ZK) proving systems.
Proposal Outlined by Buterin to Boost Execution Efficiency
Ethereum’s execution layer may see a foundational overhaul, as Buterin floated the idea of adopting RISC-V as a virtual machine replacement. The plan was initially outlined in a developer forum post and later highlighted in crypto media. According to a post by Altcoin Alerts, the transition would maintain core abstractions like storage, accounts, and cross-contract calls, while translating EVM opcodes into RISC-V syscalls.
The proposal emphasizes backward compatibility, allowing legacy EVM contracts to remain operational through a RISC-V-based interpreter. Developers would continue to write in high-level languages like Solidity, with compiler backends targeting RISC-V instead of EVM bytecode. This ensures a minimal disruption to the existing developer experience.
Long-Term Strategy to Scale ZK-EVM Proving
In the new proposal, Buterin argues that the shift to RISC-V will help resolve scalability issues that even current EIPs and zk-focused upgrades cannot fully address. He presented data showing that block execution accounts for nearly half of all ZK prover cycles, making it a prime target for optimization. Replacing the EVM, he claims, eliminates significant inefficiencies built into the current system.
To support this transition, the RISC-V integration would align Ethereum with more prover-friendly cryptographic primitives, such as Poseidon hashes, reducing proof generation time dramatically. This change is not just a technical upgrade, it repositions Ethereum’s core protocol to meet the computational demands of future decentralized applications and rollups.
Multiple Implementation Paths Under Consideration
Buterin outlined three viable approaches to integrating RISC-V into the execution layer, each offering varying degrees of disruption and simplification. The first is dual VM support, allowing both EVM and RISC-V contracts to coexist and call each other seamlessly. This would let the ecosystem transition organically while evaluating the real-world performance of RISC-V.
On a broader scale, a more ambitious plan would enshrine RISC-V interpreters at the protocol level, establishing a modular VM framework with potential support for other architectures like Move. This modularization could reduce Ethereum’s base layer code to under 10,000 lines, echoing the simplicity goals of the Beam Chain effort on the consensus side.
