Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has floated a bold idea to overhaul the network’s execution layer, suggesting a move to the RISC-V instruction set architecture as a replacement for the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
The proposal, outlined in a blog post on April 20, aims to unlock new levels of speed and scalability for the blockchain as it grapples with intensifying competition from newer monolithic networks.
In his proposal, Buterin identified several pressing challenges that continue to hamper Ethereum’s growth, including the need for stable data availability sampling, maintaining a healthy and decentralized block production market, and optimizing zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs—key to Ethereum’s long-term scalability.
Buterin believes adopting RISC-V—a streamlined, open-source architecture popular in hardware development—could lead to a breakthrough in execution efficiency.
He argued that while efforts like Ethereum’s “beam chain” initiative may help streamline the consensus layer, achieving similar performance gains on the execution side may require “radical changes.”
“The beam chain effort holds great promise for greatly simplifying the consensus layer of Ethereum,” he wrote. “But for the execution layer to see similar gains, this kind of radical change may be the only viable path.”
The suggestion comes as Ethereum faces mounting pressure to maintain its edge in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. Rivals such as Solana and Sui offer high-throughput monolithic designs that appeal to both users and developers seeking faster, cheaper transactions. Meanwhile, investor sentiment in Ethereum has grown cautious.
Buterin estimates that the proposed transition to RISC-V could deliver efficiency gains as high as 100-fold in certain scenarios, particularly in the context of ZK proving—an area of increasing importance for blockchain scalability and privacy.
Fee Collapse Underscores Ethereum’s Growing Pains
While Buterin’s proposal points to the future, Ethereum is already feeling the strain. In recent weeks, network fees have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly five years. According to Etherscan, blob fees—charges collected from layer-2 networks—fell to just 3.18 ETH during the final week of March, equating to around $5,000 at the time.
April 2025 marked another milestone: average transaction costs on Ethereum fell to approximately $0.16—the lowest since 2020. Analysts attribute the dip not just to market conditions but to a structural shift in network activity. Users are increasingly turning to layer-2 solutions and smart contracts instead of transacting on Ethereum’s main layer.
Brian Quinlivan, marketing director at Santiment, noted that while this shift eases congestion and lowers user costs, it also eats into the base layer’s revenue.
Token Terminal data reveals a significant decline in network fees during Q1 2025, raising concerns about Ethereum’s ability to sustain long-term development and secure its infrastructure through economic incentives.
A Double-Edged Sword
Layer-2 networks have proven effective in scaling Ethereum’s capabilities, but their success may be coming at a cost. By shifting activity off the base layer, they’ve contributed to an erosion of Ethereum’s core revenue model—prompting fears that further price declines for Ether (ETH) could follow.
With ETH already facing downward pressure and trading near multi-year lows, some market watchers warn the price could slide toward $1,100 if confidence continues to slip.
Buterin’s vision for a RISC-V powered Ethereum may be a long-term solution—but in the short term, Ethereum’s execution and monetization strategies remain under intense scrutiny as the platform navigates one of its most challenging chapters yet.
