Ethereum's Future: Vitalik Buterin Proposes RISC-V for Enhanced Efficiency

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has put forward a proposal to replace the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contract language with the RISC-V instruction set architecture. This change aims to enhance the speed and efficiency of Ethereum's execution layer. Buterin's proposal, dated April 20, addresses several long-term challenges in scaling the Ethereum network, such as stable data availability sampling, maintaining competitive block production, and zero-knowledge EVM proving. Buterin argues that adopting the RISC-V architecture in smart contracts could keep block production markets competitive and improve the efficiency of zero-knowledge functions within the execution layer. He emphasized that while the beam chain effort shows promise in simplifying Ethereum's consensus layer, a radical change like this might be necessary for the execution layer to achieve similar improvements. The proposal underscores Ethereum's ongoing struggle to enhance throughput and remain competitive with newer monolithic blockchains like Solana and Sui, especially as investor confidence in the original smart contract blockchain wanes. Buterin suggests that implementing this proposal could result in efficiency gains of up to 100 times. Meanwhile, Ethereum's network fees have seen a significant decline. During the week of March 30, Ethereum's blob fees, which are transaction fees from Ethereum layer-2 scaling networks, fell to a weekly low of 3.18 Ether (ETH), equivalent to approximately $5,000 based on current Ether prices. In April 2025, Ethereum network fees reached their lowest levels since 2020, averaging around $0.16 per transaction. Brian Quinlivan, Santiment's marketing director, attributes the dramatic reduction in fees to a decrease in users sending transactions on the Ethereum base layer. Instead, users are opting for smart contracts or one of Ethereum's numerous layer-2 scaling solutions. The decline in Ethereum network weekly transaction fees was notable in the first quarter of 2025. While layer-2 networks have significantly reduced transaction costs on the base layer, they have also impacted Ethereum's base layer revenue. This has raised concerns about revenue generation and the potential negative effects of layer-2 scaling solutions on Ethereum's market share. As a result, Ether's price has reached historic lows and could fall further to around $1,100 if investor confidence continues to decline.