Buterin Proposes Binary State Tree and RISC‑V VM to Fix Ethereum Proving Bottlenecks
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin proposed layered execution‑layer changes to remove the protocol’s largest ZK proving bottlenecks: the state tree and the virtual machine. Referencing EIP‑7864, he backed replacing the hexary Keccak Merkle Patricia Tree with a unified binary state tree that uses a faster hash (e.g., BLAKE3 or a Poseidon variant) and groups storage into 64–256‑slot pages. Near‑term effects include ~4x shorter Merkle branches, 3–4x proving efficiency gains from branch shortening, smaller Merkle proofs (~75% reduction), lower client verification bandwidth, and potential per‑transaction gas savings (heavy adjacent‑slot patterns could save >10,000 gas). A hash swap to BLAKE3 offers ~3x extra gains; Poseidon could give larger improvements subject to security review. Longer term, Buterin recommended migrating from the EVM to a RISC‑V‑based VM—deployed in stages (new VM for precompiles, native contracts, then EVM reimplemented as a contract)—to better align execution with ZK provers, remove many precompiles, enable local client proofs, and simplify prover implementations. The proposal argues state tree and VM together account for the majority of proving costs; addressing both would make Ethereum more prover‑friendly and improve scaling for ZK rollups. The VM change is non‑consensus and conditional on the proving ecosystem; state‑tree upgrades via EIP‑7864 are the nearer, concrete step. Keywords: Ethereum, EIP‑7864, state tree, Merkle, BLAKE3, Poseidon, RISC‑V, EVM, zero‑knowledge, gas savings.
Bullish
The proposals target fundamental proving inefficiencies that increase costs for ZK rollups and heavy on‑chain dApps. Near‑term changes (EIP‑7864: binary state tree, page grouping, faster hash) materially reduce Merkle proof sizes, branch depth and verification bandwidth—this directly lowers gas and prover costs for ZK systems. Lower proving costs improve throughput and UX for rollups and could accelerate adoption of ZK scaling solutions, which benefits ETH demand over time. The longer‑term RISC‑V VM proposal is non‑consensus but signals a roadmap toward execution that is more prover‑friendly; if adopted gradually, it would further cut prover overhead and support richer ZK-native tooling. Short term, market reaction may be muted because EIP‑7864 still needs specification, security review (especially for Poseidon), and a governance path; gas accounting changes could create transitional uncertainty. However, medium‑to‑long‑term the net effect is positive for Ethereum’s scalability and value capture by ETH as ZK rollups become cheaper and more competitive. Therefore the overall price impact on ETH is categorized as bullish, driven by anticipated lower scaling costs and improved ZK economics.