Ethereum Co-Founder Proposes RISC-V for 50% Efficiency Gain

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a significant change to the network's execution layer by suggesting the replacement of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with the RISC-V instruction set architecture. This proposal aims to enhance scalability and improve the efficiency of zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, which are crucial for the network's performance and security.

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In a post shared on the Ethereum Magicians forum, Buterin argued that the switch could drastically improve the performance and simplicity of Ethereum’s execution layer. The EVM is responsible for executing smart contract code across the Ethereum network. According to Buterin, its limitations have become a long-term bottleneck for scaling. He believes replacing it with RISC-V, a hardware-standard architecture already used in zero-knowledge EVMs, could provide massive improvements in proving efficiency, particularly for zero-knowledge-based scaling.

ZK-EVMs currently translate Ethereum operations into RISC-V before producing proofs. Buterin recommends developers write contracts that compile directly to RISC-V, bypassing this intermediary step. Popular Ethereum programming languages like Solidity and Vyper would still be functional but would focus on RISC-V rather than the EVM.

Ethereum wouldn’t change its inter-contract communication, smart contract abstractions, or current account structure. The change would primarily affect the computation process at the back-end. Backward compatibility would be maintained, allowing legacy EVM contracts to continue operating and interacting with new RISC-V contracts.

This modification might increase prover efficiency by over 50 times, or more in some cases, helping Ethereum maintain its competitive advantage over faster monolithic blockchains. This proposal coincides with multi-year lows in Ethereum’s network usage. The drop is tied to declining L1 activity as users move to layer-2 networks for lower-cost execution. Previous improvements have largely focused on reducing L2 storage costs, but they have also significantly decreased L1 revenue.

Although Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is set for May 7, Buterin’s call for a fundamental change suggests that minor changes might not be enough. To improve long-term scalability and stay up with high-performance chains, Ethereum may need to rethink the core features of its smart contract system.

The primary motivation behind this proposal is the declining base layer activity and revenue on the Ethereum network. In the week of March 30, Ethereum collected only 3.18 ETH in blob fees, equivalent to around $5,000. Additionally, transaction fees have dropped sharply, reaching an average of $0.16 in April 2025, the lowest since 2020. This decline is largely attributed to the growing shift in activity to layer-2 networks and contract calls, rather than base-layer transactions. This trend has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the network and the value of Ether.

Buterin noted that most zero-knowledge provers already simulate the EVM by translating it into RISC-V. By switching to RISC-V natively, the efficiency of these proofs could be improved by up to 100 times, simplifying the proof generation process. To ensure compatibility with existing contracts, Ethereum would continue to support old EVM contracts alongside new RISC-V-based ones. This could involve using a RISC-V interpreter to execute old bytecode or running two systems in parallel within the protocol. Over time, this approach could also allow Ethereum to support other virtual machines, such as Move.

This proposal comes ahead of Ethereum’s scheduled “Pectra” upgrade on May 7, which aims to improve scalability, user experience, and validator limits. Buterin believes that for the execution layer to match the improvements seen in the consensus layer, a more fundamental change is required. The proposal is seen as a bold but necessary step to maintain Ethereum’s performance and relevance in a competitive blockchain environment.

The shift to RISC-V is expected to address several long-term challenges in scaling the Ethereum network, including stable data availability sampling, block production competitiveness, and ZK-EVM proofs. By adopting RISC-V, Ethereum could potentially overcome these bottlenecks and ensure its continued growth and innovation. The proposal has sparked discussions within the Ethereum community, with many developers and stakeholders weighing the potential benefits and challenges of this significant change.