What is Risc-V?
RISC-V, pronounced “Risk Five”, is a modern open source instruction architecture (ISA) based on computer principles with a small instructions set (RISC). In simple terms, it is like a plan that defines a set of instructions that a processor can execute.
RISC-V is designed to be highly modular, efficient and flexible. Originally developed by the University of California in 2010, the open source framework gives developers the flexibility of adapting their functionality and use cases, it also offers cost savings compared to ISA owners such as ARM or X86. This sacrifices a wide range of uses, from supercomputers to smartphones and now block chains like Ethereum.
On April 20, 2025, the Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, announced a new “radical” scale proposal to replace the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) with the architecture of the RISC-V instructions set, with the aim of increasing the speed and the efficiency layer. The idea is that RISC-V is the best way to solve the scalability structures of the block chain.
“Its objective is to improve the efficiency of the Ethereum execution layer, solve one of the primary scale bottlenecks, and can also greatly improve the simplicity of the execution layer; in fact, it is perhaps the only way to do it.
The idea: replace the EVM with RISC-V as the virtual machine language that smart contracts are written, “Bterin said.
Ethereum continues to face high transaction rates and a reduced volume of transactions as users change to layer 2 for cheaper and fast transactions. This is aligned with the Ethereum scale strategy after the merger (2022). Buterin’s idea of remodeling the chain is considered an opportunity to modernize and retain its domain as an intelligent hiring platform.
Did you know? The Ethereum execution layer has become its main scalability bottleneck. The inefficient processing of intelligent contracts and transactions due to the execution of a single thread, the wasteful computational design and complex state management are causing network congestion.
How would Risc-V work in Ethereum?
Add RISC-V to Ethereum remains only a proposal discussed by the community and the Government of the Network. BUTERIN describes several approaches to implement the proposal, including the execution of two virtual machines (VM) or a change from fulte to RISC-V.
The first idea to support virtual machines would allow to write and execute contracts in the existing EVM model or RISC-V. Both types of contract would have access to functionality, such as persistent storage, ether balances (ETH) and calling and reception calls. In addition to this, the contract could be integrated so that they can be called each other.
An alternative approach, described as “more radical”, would modify the protocol to convert existing EVM contracts. This would require rewriting current contracts to interact with an EVM interpreter, while new contracts would be written directly in RISC-V.
An important challenge for such drastic change is to avoid breaking existing decentralized applications (DAPP) and smart contracts. Ethereum cannot risk breaking existing contracts written in the current EVM code. A transition solution could involve the use of an interpreter, essentially a translation layer between different computer languages. This would allow developers to start building with RISC-V while guaranteeing that inherited Evm contracts work continuous without interruptions.
Did you know? In 2022, Ethereum jumped into its energy efficiency and delivered more scalability, safety and sustainability. In a process called “The Fusion”, the chain changed a mechanism of consensus of work test (POW) to the Swallow -proof (POS). This involved merge the Ethereum Mainnet with a separate post -block chain called Beacon Chain.
Key RISC-V VS. EVM
If RISC-V causes an important change in Ethereum’s architecture, what will be the benefits of making this change? In the long run, RISC-V would improve the performance and processing of Ethereum’s intelligent contracts.
According to Bugerin, the new architecture could theoretically offer efficiency profits of 100 times; Actually, this number will be difficult to achieve, but earnings would still be significant. The efficiency gains are linked to the suitability of REISC-V for both zero knowledge test systems (ZK) and for the general execution of the smart contract, since it eliminates EVM overload.
It is less about replacing the EVM directly and more about the use of RISC-V as a backend for zkevm or similar zk rolls, where test costs dominate. The scalability improvements would come largely from the discharge of execution to the ZK rolls, with RISC-V optimizing the test process.
Smart contracts RISC-V could work faster and use FEER computational resources. This greater efficiency would probably translate into lower gas rates for end users. In the process, it would also allow the network to handle more users and transactions without decreasing speed. That would be a direct improvement to Ethereum’s scalability, potentially solving one of the largest criticized points in the blockchain industry.
In addition, the set of simple and flexible instructions of RISC-VS is more appropriate for ZK proof calculations than the EVM, which incurs overload of administrative tasks such as gas accounting and state management.
Instead of rebuilding the EVM for ZK tests, RISC-V sacrifices a simplified alternative, simplifying the development of ZK optimized execution layers. This could accelerate the Ethereum roadmap for privacy and scalability through the ZK rolls, which makes RISC-V a convincing complement to the EVM.
Below is a comparative table that summarizes the differences and key benefits of RISC-V compared to EVM.
Did you know? Ethereum has gone through several important development milestones about its first decade. In particular, in 2016, he made a hard fork to reverse the chain after Dao hack. The result is still remarkable today with the classic chains of Ethereum and Ethereum, both in existence.
RISC-V will be implemented in the future?
Buterin’s proposal has caused an lively debate among Ethereum users and developers. It is an ambitious idea that could be a milestone in the development of the development of the leading smart contract blocks.
The Ben Adams programmer raised several concerns about the proposal: in summary, the ZK proof could become more efficient, but there could be compensation. The construction and execution of blocks, which execute smart contracts, could end up being significantly slower.
“The risk here is that the ZK test can improve, but the construction and execution of blocks will deteriorate significantly,” said Ben Adams.
A feeling made by an anonymous commentator: “I agree with Ben Adams here, the EVM as a whole is based a lot in U256, so abstraging RISC-V would decrease the general performance of execution.”
Others seemed to agree that RISC-V was a good idea to help reduce bottlenecks, but questioned whether it was a priority, possible technical difficulty and cost.
“Okay, it seems an idea for the L1 that solves points 2 and 3 of the bottlenecks L1. But is this the set of priorities for which we want to solve, especially given the technical cost scale here?” Adam Cochran added.
It is clear that the proposal still needs clarity and more discussions within the Ethereum community. While the promise is of radical simplification that drives efficiency and speed, it also introduces a complex technical change. I would require enhanceable dedication years to rethink how the block chain of layer 1 works.
Of course, as with any decentralized project, the green light not only depends on technical planning; It needs the consent of the community. Then, currently, Bugerin’s proposal has opened a wide conversation about any imminent development action.
