Ethereum to Overhaul EVM with RISC-V for ZK Future

Ethereum is preparing a major architecture overhaul by replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with the RISC-V instruction set. This shift aims to remove performance bottlenecks in zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs—currently hampered by 50–800× slowdown from interpreter overhead and inefficiencies from 256-bit stack design and precompiled modules. RISC-V offers a minimal base of about 47 core instructions, a mature LLVM ecosystem supporting Rust, C++, and Go, and a formal SAIL specification enabling strict verification. Over 90% of zkVM projects already target RISC-V, and hardware proof paths (ASICs/FPGAs) are in testing. The migration will unfold in three phases: low-risk RISC-V precompiles, a dual-VM era with full EVM–RISC-V interop, and a Rosetta phase to reimplement EVM atop RISC-V. The upgrade promises 100× faster proof execution, potential throughput up to 10,000 TPS, and reduced costs. Optimistic rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism must revise fraud-proof mechanisms, while ZK rollups such as Polygon, zkSync, and Scroll stand to gain with cheaper, faster, and simpler operations. Developers will access native Rust, Go, and Python toolchains; users will benefit from dramatically lower ZK proof costs. Ultimately, Ethereum will evolve into a streamlined, verifiable trust layer with a “snark everything” vision.