RISC-V on Ethereum: Scalable Future or Risky Reboot?

Key Points

1. Vitalik Buterin suggested replacing the EVM with RISC-V, an open-source instruction set architecture, to potentially speed up zero-knowledge proof generation by up to 100 times.

2. RISC-V's advantages include being open, customizable, and better suited for parallel execution and zero-knowledge applications, which could benefit zk-rollups and Ethereum's scalability.

3. Transitioning to RISC-V would require rewriting and re-auditing all existing smart contracts, resetting accumulated security knowledge, and could disrupt Layer 2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum that rely on the EVM.

4. A proposed path forward involves dual-VM support for at least a decade, allowing new contracts to use RISC-V while legacy ones remain on the EVM, ensuring continuity and flexibility for developers.

5. The proposal highlights Ethereum's need to evolve beyond current upgrades like Dencun and Pectra to address scalability and execution speed challenges, though RISC-V is not a guaranteed solution and may never fully replace the EVM.