Ethereum's Bold Move: Vitalik Buterin Proposes RISC-V Over EVM for Smart Contracts

A Game-Changing Proposal

In a jaw-dropping move, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has thrown down the gauntlet, proposing to ditch the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) in favor of RISC-V. This open-source architecture could revolutionize the foundation of Ethereum's smart contracts. Buterin dropped this bombshell on the Ethereum Magicians forum on April 20th, and it's sending shockwaves through the crypto community!

Why RISC-V?

Buterin isn't just stirring the pot; he's got a vision. He argues that swapping out the EVM for RISC-V could supercharge Ethereum's performance and simplify its execution layer. The EVM, which runs smart contract code across the Ethereum network, has been holding Ethereum back, according to Buterin. He believes RISC-V, already used in zero-knowledge EVMs, could boost proving efficiency and turbocharge Ethereum's scaling efforts.

Straight to RISC-V

Right now, ZK-EVMs translate Ethereum ops into RISC-V before proving. But Buterin's got a better idea: write contracts that compile directly to RISC-V, skipping the middleman. He says popular Ethereum languages like Solidity and Vyper would still work, but they'd be all about RISC-V, not the EVM.

Smooth Transition

Don't panic, Ethereum fans! Buterin's plan won't mess with inter-contract communication, smart contract abstractions, or the current account structure. It's all about revamping the backend computation process. Plus, backward compatibility would keep legacy EVM contracts humming along, playing nice with the new RISC-V kids on the block.

50x Efficiency Boost?

Hang onto your hats, because Buterin says this switch could crank up prover efficiency by over 50 times, maybe even more! That's the kind of firepower Ethereum needs to keep ahead of speed demons like Solana and Sui.

Timing is Everything

This proposal couldn't come at a more critical time. Ethereum's network usage is at multi-year lows, with average transaction fees dropping to a measly $0.16 in April, the lowest since 2020. As users flock to layer-2 networks for cheaper execution, Ethereum's L1 revenue is taking a hit. Past upgrades have focused on cutting L2 storage costs, but it's clear more drastic measures are needed.

More Than Just Pectra

Sure, Ethereum's got the Pectra upgrade coming up on May 7th, but Buterin's call for a fundamental overhaul suggests minor tweaks won't cut it. To keep up with the big dogs in the blockchain race, Ethereum might need to rebuild its smart contract system from the ground up. Buckle up, crypto world - this could be the start of a wild ride!