Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum (ETH), has recently proposed a significant change to simplify and speed up this blockchain. He suggests replacing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with open-source RISC-V architecture. This change could address a major scalability issue of Ethereum and enhance the efficiency of smart contract execution. Buterin explains that in the future, smart contracts will be compiled to RISC-V instead of EVM bytecode. The goal is to optimize the execution layer and improve the performance of Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (ZK-EVM). Despite this major change, core elements of Ethereum architecture such as accounts, contract storage, balances, and inter-contract communication will remain intact. Developers can still use languages like Solidity or Vyper, but the output will be compiled to RISC-V instead of EVM. This plan also maintains backward compatibility, ensuring that old EVM contracts will still be executable. Buterin proposes three paths to implement this idea, including concurrent execution of EVM and RISC-V, EVM contract execution via a RISC-V interpreter, and standardizing these interpreters in the protocol. This proposal aligns with Ethereum’s long-term vision for simplicity, modularity, and scalability. However, Ethereum’s price is currently at its lowest levels since March 2023. Ethereum has dropped by 50.8% from the beginning of this year to date and hit its lowest point in the past 5 years last week. Nevertheless, this cryptocurrency has grown by 6.1% in the past 14 days and 3.23% today, currently trading at around $1,639. You can view the live prices of all tokens and cryptocurrencies on the momentary price page of digital currencies.
