Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has proposed moving away from the existing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) architecture to RISC-V. This plan aims to simplify operations, improve scalability, and minimize future costs.
Transition to RISC-V: A Shift in Ethereum’s Core Execution Layer
In his blog, Buterin outlined why EVM should be replaced by RISC-V, asserting that this change would help resolve serious bottlenecks in Ethereum's execution layer. Core abstractions such as accounts and storage access would remain intact, easing developer adaptation. While smart contracts could be written in Rust, most developers would likely continue using Solidity or Vyper.
Enhancing ZK-EVM Efficiency Through Architecture Overhaul
Buterin also highlighted inefficiencies within existing ZK-EVM proving systems, suggesting that moving to RISC-V may reduce proving cycle costs. Transitioning to binary trees using the Poseidon hash function could dramatically increase proving speed, achieving up to 2 million hashes per second. Direct access to the RISC-V virtual machine for developers could also yield 100x efficiency gains in specific cases.
Compatibility Measures and Developer Experience
To maintain compatibility, Buterin proposed several approaches, including simultaneous support for both EVM and RISC-V contracts. A more radical method involves wrapping legacy EVM contracts with a RISC-V interpreter to retain functionality. A new protocol feature could also support multiple VM interpreters, facilitating seamless interactions between them.
Buterin's proposal to transition to RISC-V represents a significant step in Ethereum's evolution. This change has the potential to enhance the network's infrastructure while preserving core developer experiences.
