Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed overhauling the blockchain’s smart contract infrastructure by replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V, a widely adopted open-source instruction set architecture.

This shift aims to address one of Ethereum’s key scaling bottlenecks by dramatically improving the efficiency and simplicity of smart contract execution.

Buterin Proposes Ditching EVM for RISC-V

The proposal was detailed in a post on the Ethereum Magicians forum. In it, Buterin suggested that smart contracts could eventually be compiled to RISC-V rather than EVM bytecode. 

According to Buterin, this shift addresses long-term scalability challenges. This particularly includes keeping block production competitive and improving zero-knowledge (ZK) EVM-proof efficiency. 

“It aims to greatly improve the efficiency of the Ethereum execution layer, resolving one of the primary scaling bottlenecks, and can also greatly improve the execution layer’s simplicity – in fact, it is perhaps the only way to do so,” he wrote.

Current ZK-EVM implementations spend around half of their proving cycles on EVM execution. By switching to a native RISC-V VM, Ethereum could potentially achieve up to 100x efficiency gains.

Importantly, many fundamental aspects of Ethereum’s architecture would remain unchanged, preserving continuity for developers and users. Core abstractions such as accounts, smart contract storage, ETH balances, and cross-contract calls would function exactly as they do today. 

Developers would still write contracts in familiar languages like Solidity or Vyper. These would simply be compiled to RISC-V rather than EVM bytecode. Tooling and workflows would remain largely intact, ensuring a smooth transition. 

Crucially, the proposal ensures backward compatibility. Existing EVM contracts will remain fully operational and interoperable with new RISC-V contracts.

Buterin outlines several potential implementation paths forward. The first would support both EVM and RISC-V smart contracts natively. The second suggests wrapping EVM contracts to run via an interpreter written in RISC-V. Thus, it would enable a full transition without breaking compatibility.  

The third, more modular approach, builds on the second by formally enshrining interpreters as part of the Ethereum protocol. This would allow the EVM and the future virtual machines to be supported in a standardized way. 

Buterin stated that the idea is “equally as ambitious as the beam chain effort.” 

“The beam chain effort holds great promise for greatly simplifying the consensus layer of Ethereum. But for the execution layer to see similar gains, this kind of radical change may be the only viable path,” Buterin added.

For context, the Ethereum Beam Chain is a redesign of Ethereum’s consensus layer (Beacon Chain). It focuses on faster block times, faster finality, chain snarkification, and quantum resistance. The development will likely begin in 2026.

This proposal fits into Ethereum’s broader vision of modularity, simplicity, and long-term scalability. Previously, BeInCrypto reported on Buterin’s privacy-centric plans for the blockchain. 

The proposal focused on integrating privacy-preserving technologies. Moreover, the Pectra upgrade is also nearing, with the launch expected on May 7.

Meanwhile, ETH continues to face market headwinds, trading at March 2023 lows. This year has been quite hard for the altcoin, as it saw a decline of 50.8%. In fact, Ethereum dominance hit a 5-year low last week.

Nonetheless, BeInCrypto data showed a slight recovery over the last 14 days. ETH rose by 6.1%. Over the past day alone, it saw modest gains of 1.7%. At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $1,639.

Bitcoin price is slowly moving higher above the $86,500 zone. BTC is gaining pace and might continue higher in the near term.

• Bitcoin found support at $84,200 and started a recovery wave.
• The price is trading above $85,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
• There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $85,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could start another increase if it clears the $88,000 zone.

Bitcoin Price Eyes Steady Increase

Bitcoin price remained stable above the $83,200 level and started a fresh increase. BTC was able to climb above the $84,200 and $85,000 resistance levels.

There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $85,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The bulls were able to pump the price above the $86,500 resistance. It even spiked above $87,000. A high is formed near $87,562 and the price might continue to rise unless there is a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $84,007 swing low to the $87,562 high.

Bitcoin price is now trading above $86,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $87,500 level. The first key resistance is near the $88,000 level.

The next key resistance could be $88,800. A close above the $88,800 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $89,500 resistance level. Any more gains might send the price toward the $90,000 level.

Downside Correction In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $88,000 resistance zone, it could start a downside correction. Immediate support on the downside is near the $87,000 level. The first major support is near the $86,750 level.

The next support is now near the $86,000 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $85,750 support or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $84,007 swing low to the $87,562 high in the near term. The main support sits at $84,850.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $86,750, followed by $86,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $87,500 and $88,000.