Market Analysis

Ethereum to Transition from EVM to RISC-V, Vitalik Buterin Reveals

Mellissa · 21 Apr21.3K Views

Image Credit: Technopedia

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a significant change to the network’s execution layer by replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode with the RISC-V instruction set. This modification would not alter core smart contract functions like accounts or storage but would change how contract code is compiled and executed. Under the plan, developers would compile languages like Solidity directly into RISC-V instead of EVM bytecode, and system operations such as SLOAD or CALL would be treated as syscalls rather than opcodes.

This proposal comes in response to Ethereum's declining base-layer activity and revenue. For example, in the week of March 30, Ethereum only collected 3.18 ETH in blob fees—around $5,000. Transaction fees have also significantly fallen, averaging just $0.16 in April 2025, the lowest since 2020, as activity increasingly shifts to layer-2 networks and contract calls. This decline in fee revenue raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of the network and the value of Ether.

Buterin pointed out that most zero-knowledge (ZK) provers already simulate the EVM by converting it to RISC-V, and switching to RISC-V could boost efficiency by up to 100 times while simplifying proof generation. To support existing contracts, Ethereum would run both the old EVM contracts and the new RISC-V-based ones, possibly using a RISC-V interpreter or operating both systems within the protocol. This shift could also pave the way for supporting other virtual machines, like Move.

The proposal comes ahead of Ethereum’s upcoming "Pectra" upgrade on May 7, which aims to enhance scalability, user experience, and validator limits. Buterin believes that for the execution layer to match the improvements made in the consensus layer, a more fundamental change is essential.

There are concerns that the continued decrease in base-layer fees could hurt Ether’s value. Analysts warn that if this trend continues, Ether’s price could fall further, potentially reaching $1,100. The RISC-V proposal is seen as a bold yet necessary step to preserve Ethereum’s performance and competitiveness in the blockchain space.