2025-04-21
On April 20, 2024, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has
proposed a sweeping change to the foundation of the Ethereum network,
suggesting the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) be replaced with the
RISC-V instruction set architecture to boost speed and scalability.
RISC-V is a free, open-standard
processor design known for its efficiency. Buterin argues that adopting it
could modernize Ethereum's execution layer and address long-standing issues
that have slowed network growth.
His proposal also points to
improvements in data availability, more competition among block producers, and
enhanced zero-knowledge (ZK) proof capabilities that are key technologies
enabling faster and cheaper transactions.
“The beam chain initiative is a very
promising way to simplify the consensus layer of Ethereum,” Buterin wrote. “But
radical changes of this kind could be the only way to drive similar
improvements for the execution layer.”
This proposal comes at a time when
Ethereum is under mounting pressure.
Transaction fees, which is a major
source of network revenue, have dropped to their lowest levels since 2020,
averaging just $0.16 per transaction in April.
“Blob fees” from layer-2 scaling
solutions also plummeted to just 3.18 ETH (roughly $5,000) in late March, a 95%
drop since mid-month.
Experts say this fee decline isn’t due
to weak demand but because users are shifting to layer-2 networks like Arbitrum
and Optimism.
These platforms offer faster and
cheaper transactions, but they also reduce traffic and income on Ethereum’s
main layer.
"Layer-2s are a double-edged
sword," said Brian Quinlivan, Marketing Director at Santiment. "They
lower costs for users but eat into Ethereum’s core revenue."
The financial hit is causing concern. With fewer users transacting on the main Ethereum chain and revenues falling, some analysts warn that Ether (ETH) prices could fall as low as $1,100 if the trend continues.
RISC-V (pronounced
"risk-five") is an open standard instruction set architecture (ISA)
based on the principles of Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC).
It was originally developed starting in
2010 at the University of California, Berkeley, and later managed by the RISC-V
Foundation (now RISC-V International), a Swiss non-profit organization.
RISC-V is open and royalty-free. Anyone
can implement RISC-V without paying licensing fees, which encourages innovation
and broad adoption across academia and industry.
RISC-V is modular and extensible. It
has a small base instruction set with optional extensions, allowing chip
designers to customize processors for specific applications and create their
own extensions.
RISC-V is simple and efficienct, following
RISC principles, RISC-V uses a small set of simple instructions that can be
executed quickly, enabling efficient hardware design and easier compiler
optimization.
Support for multiple bit widths, RISC-V
supports 32-bit, 64-bit, and 128-bit implementations, making it versatile for
embedded systems up to high-performance computing.
Its ecosystem is growing, it is
supported by major Linux distributions and companies worldwide, with commercial
SoCs and processors available from multiple vendors.
In summary, RISC-V is a modern,
open-source ISA that promotes innovation by providing a flexible, efficient,
and license-free architecture for processor design, making it a significant
alternative to proprietary ISAs like ARM and x86.
Reaction to Buterin’s RISC-V proposal
has been mixed.
Some developers call it a bold,
necessary step to future-proof Ethereum and make it more competitive with
fast-rising chains like Solana and Sui.
Others warn it would require rebuilding
large parts of the network, a process that could take years and raise serious
questions about compatibility with existing smart contracts.
The Ethereum community is reviewing the
proposal, which has been opened for public comment.
If adopted, it could mark the beginning
of a major overhaul and a critical moment for Ethereum as it tries to stay
relevant in an increasingly competitive blockchain space.
