Ethereum, launched in 2015, is the second-largest blockchain by market capitalization, known for its smart contract functionality and decentralized applications (DApps). The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the runtime environment for executing smart contracts, but it has faced scalability issues, particularly with high transaction fees and competition from faster blockchains like Solana. Recent articles from Cointelegraph, CryptoTimes, Cryptopolitan, Mitrade, BitcoinEthereumNews, CoinMarketCap Academy, The Block, and Coinedition, all dated April 2025, confirm Buterin’s proposal, providing detailed insights into its scope and rationale. This aligns with Ethereum’s ongoing efforts to enhance scalability, especially as network fees have dropped to their lowest levels since 2020, averaging $0.16 per transaction, per Cointelegraph.
Proposal Details
Buterin’s proposal involves replacing the EVM’s current bytecode with RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) known for its efficiency and flexibility, commonly used in hardware design. Key aspects include:
- EVM Replacement: The EVM, responsible for executing smart contracts, would be swapped for RISC-V, changing how contract code is compiled and run. Fundamental features like accounts, storage, and cross-contract calls would remain unchanged, per CoinMarketCap Academy.
- Technical Shift: Operations like SLOAD and CALL, currently EVM opcodes, would become system calls (syscalls) in a RISC-V system, simplifying execution, per CryptoTimes and The Block.
- Development Impact: Developers would compile languages like Solidity directly to RISC-V instead of EVM bytecode, potentially streamlining development, per CoinMarketCap Academy.
This proposal is described as “radical” and “ambitious” by Buterin, per The Block, indicating a significant technical shift under the hood, while maintaining user-facing functionality.
Rationale and Efficiency Gains
Buterin’s rationale centers on addressing Ethereum’s scalability bottlenecks:
- Efficiency Gains: He suggests implementing RISC-V could lead to efficiency gains of up to 100x, significantly improving Ethereum’s throughput, per Cointelegraph and BitcoinEthereumNews. This is crucial for handling more transactions and reducing costs.
- Scalability Challenges: Ethereum’s execution layer is seen as a major bottleneck, especially with declining base-layer activity. In the week of March 30, 2025, Ethereum collected just 3.18 ETH in blob fees, around $5,000, and transaction fees averaged $0.16 in April 2025, the lowest since 2020, per CoinMarketCap Academy and Cointelegraph. This drop is due to users shifting to layer-2 networks, highlighting the need for base-layer improvements.
- Competitive Edge: Buterin argues RISC-V is the “only viable path” to optimize the synchronization between Ethereum’s execution and consensus layers, ensuring competitiveness against blockchains like Solana, per BitcoinEthereumNews and Mitrade.
The proposal also mentions better availability sampling, a more competitive atmosphere between block producers, and improvements in zero-knowledge (ZK) proving, key for fast, cheap, and private transactions, per Mitrade and Cryptopolitan.
Current Context and Market Dynamics
Ethereum’s current state underscores the need for scalability enhancements:
- Network Fees: Transaction fees dropped sharply in April 2025, reaching $0.16 on average, the lowest since 2020, due to fewer base-layer transactions and increased layer-2 activity, per Cointelegraph and CoinMarketCap Academy. This reflects a shift in user behavior, with DApps and smart contracts moving off-chain.
- Revenue Decline: Ethereum’s network revenue has faced pressure, with Q1 2025 DApp fee revenue at $1.021 billion, per BeInCrypto, but base-layer activity remains low, per CoinMarketCap Academy. This context supports Buterin’s call for radical steps to remain competitive.
- Competition: Blockchains like Solana have gained traction for higher throughput and lower fees, putting pressure on Ethereum, per BitcoinEthereumNews. Buterin’s proposal aims to address this, ensuring Ethereum’s leadership in smart contracts.
Community Response and Next Steps
The Ethereum community has responded positively, with a draft proposal already prepared for public comment, per BitcoinEthereumNews and Cryptopolitan. This indicates serious consideration, with the community engaging on the Ethereum Magicians forum, per The Block. If accepted, it could signal the start of a new chapter for Ethereum, potentially redeploying its execution layer for future scalability, per Cryptopolitan.
The process is still in early stages, with no implementation timeline, but it suggests a collaborative approach to Ethereum’s evolution, per Cointelegraph and CryptoTimes.
Controversies and Analyst Perspectives
There is some controversy surrounding the proposal:
- Optimists: Supporters, implied in community reactions per Cryptopolitan, see it as a bold move to future-proof Ethereum, enhancing scalability and efficiency. They highlight the potential 100x gains as transformative, per Cointelegraph.
- Skeptics: Critics, inferred from implementation challenges, question the technical feasibility and market impact, per The Block. They note risks of disrupting existing DApps and developer ecosystems, especially given Ethereum’s entrenched EVM infrastructure, per Mitrade.
This debate underscores complexity, with the evidence leaning toward a promising but challenging proposal, acknowledging both potential and risks.
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