VITALIK BUTERIN wants to replace Ethereum’s backbone
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According to Vitalik, this change would reduce processing times and costs for users.
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In the Polkadot network, the use of RISC-V would have led to transactions execution improvements.
On April 20, Vitalik Butein, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), presented a proposal that could transform the technical core of the network: replace the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) by RISC-V, a virtual machine architecture designed to be used in a more general context and not specifically in cryptocurrency networks.
This modification, described by Bugerin itself as a long -term solution for the scalability and simplicity challenges of Ethereum, seeks to optimize the execution of intelligent contracts and improve network efficiency.
A precedent of the proposal made by Buterin is in the Polkadot Red (DOT). According to the user who calls himself ‘dragomyst’ and with the Polkadot developer, ‘Fabsverse’ in X, the use of RISC-V in that network allowed a “faster execution (of transactions) and improvements of 100 times in the performance of zero knowledge tests (ZK-Proofs), criticisms for privacy and scalability.”
What is EVM and why is it so important for Ethereum?
The Ethereum virtual machine is the environment in which the intelligent network contracts are executed, computer programs that automate agreements or transactions when certain conditions are met. The EVM acts as a “virtual computer” that processes the code of these contracts, guaranteeing that all operations are carried out Uniform way in all nodes of the Ethereum Networkwhich gives confidence and security to users.
The EVM uses a language known as ‘Opcodes’ (basic instructions such as adding, storing data or making a call to another contract). Process transactions and intelligent contracts in this environment requires many computational resources, which generates bottlenecks in scalabilitythat is, in the capacity of the network to handle an increasing volume of operations without costs or processing times being triggered.
Additionally, EVM is both the execution environment of intelligent contracts in that ecosystem and the component that defines its low -level language, the bytecode, to which high -level languages such as Solidity or Vyper are compiled. The EVM not only executes that bytecode (readable for humans, but more efficient for the execution by the EVM) in a deterministic way in all nodes, but also establishes the rules and options that determine how contracts are structured and programmed, interacting with the state of the network. Therefore, your role covers both the execution and the definition of the programmatic format of the contracts.
What is Risc-V and how differs from EVM?
RISC-V, on the other hand, is an open-source-source instructions set (as well as EVM), which means that anyone can use it and modify it without restrictions. Unlike EVM, which was specifically designed for Ethereum, RISC-V is a more general standard which is used in a variety of applications, from microprocessors in electronic devices to embedded systems (integrated computer devices or systems that are designed to perform specific functions within a network).
The acronym RISC-V come from ‘Reduced Instruction Set Computer’ (Computer with reduced instructions set), which would indicate that, their operating approach under simple instructions would allow a faster processing and lower resource consumption.
In the context of Ethereum, RISC-V would be used as an alternative virtual machine to execute intelligent contracts. Buterin’s proposal suggests that developers could continue writing contracts in popular languages such as Solidity, but these would be compiled directly to RISC-V instructions instead of the OPCodes of the EVM. This would reduce the intermediate complexity that EVM supposes and, according to BUTTERIN, would drastically improve processing efficiency.
The objectives of replacing EVM with RISC-V
BUTERIN identifies that in the long term bottlenecks will be related to the ability to prove and execute contracts efficiently.
A key aspect of the proposal is the optimization of zero knowledge tests (ZK-Proofs), A type of technology that allows to verify transactions Without revealing all underlying datasomething essential to maintain privacy and reduce the size of the data that nodes must process.
The following table presented by Buterin, which details the necessary cycles to test different parts of the execution in the EVM, shows that Four circumstances consume most of the processing time:
- Input data deerialization (‘deerialize_inputs’).
- the initialization of the witness database (‘Initialize_witness_DB’).
- The calculation of the state’s root (‘State_root_computation’).
- block execution (‘Block_execution’).
These data indicate that About 50% of the processing time is dedicated to block executionwhich includes interpreting and processing the instructions of intelligent contracts. Buterin argues that, by replacing the EVM with RISC-V, this time could be significantly reduced, since the contracts would be executed directly in a more efficient environment, eliminating the intermediate layer that represents the EVM.
In addition, the proposal seeks to simplify the Ethereum protocol. The EVM, with its specific options and rules, has accumulated complexity over time, which makes it difficult to make changes or improvements without breaking compatibility with existing contracts.
When adopting RISC-V, Bugerin suggests that the protocol could be reduced to a much simpler specificationfacilitating the maintenance of the network and more easily implementing new functionalities in the future.
Efficiency benefits? Buterin’s goal
One of the most forceful arguments of the proposal is the potential for improvement in the efficiency of zero knowledge tests. Currently, the ZK-EVM tests work by compiling the EVM code to RISC-V and then verify it, a process that adds a layer of complexity. By allowing contracts to write and execute directly in RISC-V, that intermediate step would be eliminated.
BUTERIN presents data that compare the performance of different interpreters (software) when executing intensive mathematical operations, such as the calculation of Fibonacci numbers, a common task to measure computational efficiency.
The results of the Ethereum co-founder show that RISC-V (such as Revm) programs (such as Revm) They are much faster that those based on traditional EVMs or other technologies such as webassembly (Wasm).
These data suggest that processing efficiency could increase, generating An impact on Ethereum’s ability to handle complex transactions.
However, Bugerin clarifies that real gains will depend on how gas costs are adjusted (the rate that users pay for running operations in Ethereum) to reflect the test times in RISC-V, which could discourage the use of more expensive operationssuch as certain pre -compiled calculations that many resources consume today.
How would this change be implemented?
The transition from EVM to RISC-V would not be immediate or simple, but Bugerin proposes several strategies to make it viable. The least disruptive option would be to allow Both coexist environments: The contracts could be written in the EVM or in RISC-V, and both types would be interoperable.
A more radical alternative would be to convert all existing EVM contracts into contracts that use an EVM interpreter written in RISC-V. In this scenario, when an EVM contract receives a call, a program in RISC-V would execute its original code and return the result.
A third intermediate option would be to establish a formal mechanism in the protocol for support multiple virtual machinesstarting with the EVM and Risc-V, but leaving the door open to others, such as Move, used in other networks.
The current costs of EVMs: an obstacle to scalability
To understand why this change is necessary, Buterin also provides data on the computational cost of the most common operations in the EVM, measured in ‘gas’, the unit that represents the computational effort in Ethereum.
The following image reflects that operations such as copying data (‘Calldatacopy’) or make a call to another contract (‘Caller’) consume a significant amount of cycles (‘Average cycle’), what I know translates into higher costs for users and a lower network capacity to process transactions.
These costs are a reflection of the limitations inherent to the architecture of the EVM. By adopting Risc-V, and according to Buitterin’s proposal, Ethereum could optimize these operations, reducing both processing times and costs for userswhich in turn would allow the network to handle a greater volume of transactions.
