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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tButerin proposes binary state trees and eventual RISC-V VM shift to improve Ethereum’s proving efficiency and execution simplicity.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Vitalik Buterin has proposed execution-layer changes that could fundamentally reshape Ethereum\u2019s core architecture. The project\u2019s co-founder argued that deep modifications to the network\u2019s state tree and virtual machine are necessary to remove what he described as the chain\u2019s biggest proving bottlenecks.<\/p>\n
In a detailed post on X, Buterin said that the state tree and VM together account for more than 80% of the constraints that affect proof efficiency and called them \u201cbasically mandatory\u201d targets if Ethereum wants to enable scalable client-side and zero-knowledge proving use cases.<\/p>\n
He pointed to EIP-7864, a proposal developed by Guillaume Ballet and others, which would replace Ethereum\u2019s current hexary Keccak-based Merkle Patricia Tree with a binary tree built on a more efficient hash function. According to Buterin, the change would shorten Merkle branches by roughly four times, by cutting bandwidth requirements and making client-side branch verification significantly cheaper.<\/p>\n
This could reduce data costs for tools such as Helios and private information retrieval systems by 4x, Buterin added. Proving efficiency could also be improved by 3-4 times from shorter branches alone. He expects additional gains if Ethereum shifts to hash functions such as BLAKE3, which is estimated to be three times more efficient than Keccak. Meanwhile, a Poseidon variant could offer up to 100 times improvement, though he noted further security work would be required.<\/p>\n
The proposed binary design would also group storage slots into 64-256-slot \u201cpages\u201d and allow more efficient loading and editing of adjacent storage, potentially saving more than 10,000 gas per transaction for applications that access early storage slots. Buterin explained that a prover-friendly state tree would also allow zero-knowledge applications to compose directly with Ethereum\u2019s state instead of building independent trees, while at the same time simplifying the structure and enabling metadata additions for future state expiry mechanisms.<\/p>\n
Beyond the state tree overhaul, Buterin made the case for eventually replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine with a RISC-V-based VM, as he described the idea as longer-term and non-consensus. But he expressed high conviction that it would become \u201cthe obvious thing to do\u201d after state roadmap upgrades are complete.<\/p>\n
The Ethereum co-founder said that a RISC-V VM would be more execution-efficient, more prover-friendly, and simpler, while noting that many existing provers are already written in RISC-V and that an interpreter could be implemented in only a few hundred lines of code. He detailed a phased transition plan beginning with using the new VM for precompiles, then allowing developers to deploy contracts directly in the new VM, and ultimately retiring the EVM into a compatibility layer written as a smart contract in the new system.<\/p>\n
Under that roadmap, users would retain full backward compatibility apart from gas cost changes, which Buterin said would likely be overshadowed by scaling improvements in the coming years.<\/p>\n
Buterin\u2019s latest push comes just days after he introduced<\/a> a quantum-resistance roadmap, which included proposals to replace consensus-layer BLS signatures with hash-based schemes such as Winternitz variants.<\/p>\n LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link<\/a> to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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