Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has made a radical proposal to change the underlying layer of Ethereum. Buterin proposed in April 2025 to replace Ethe’s current virtual machine (EVM) contract language with an upgradeable RISC-V instruction set architecture version.
For context, RISC-V is an open standard, free processor architecture known for its efficiency and flexibility. Buterin argues that adoption of RISC-V can significantly promote the Ethereum execution layer.
Butaline has identified several bottlenecks that can help entrench Ethereum growth. He noted better availability sampling, a more competitive atmosphere among block producers, and improved ZK proving.
The leading technology for faster, cheaper, more private transactions thanks to Zero-Knowledge Proofs. Buterin said Ethereum must take “radical measures” to remain competitive.
“The beam chain initiative is a very promising way to simplify the Ethereum consensus layer with a large margin,” he writes. “But this kind of fundamental change could be the only way to promote similar improvements in the execution layer.”
The Ethereum community has been struggling for some time to find solutions to scaling problems. This latest proposal shows that Ethereum may need to fully rework the execution layer to withstand the next wave of blockchain innovation.
Ethereum is struggling to increase revenue amid the collapse of fees
Ethereum faces economic pressure with transaction fees (the network’s largest revenue stream) –It’s falling to the lowest level in a few years.
Transaction fees for Ethereum base tiers averaged around $0.16 per transaction in April 2025. This is the lowest number the network has seen since 2020.
BLOB Rates – Special Rates created by Ethereum’s Layer-2 solution – have collapsed. For the end of the week March 30ththe BLOB fee was only 3.18 ETH, and it was around $5,000 at its current price. This is an astounding 95% decline since mid-March.
Experts say the fees have declined not because of economic circumstances, but because users are moving to the Ethereum baseline. Instead, choose cheaper and faster layer 2 networks, such as Arbitrum or Optimism.
Layer-2 made transactions cheaper, but also withdrawn Ethereum’s core revenues. Many fear Ethereum basic layers are “cannibalized” by scaling solutions.
This means that fewer users have completed normal transactions. I said Brian Kinrivan, director of Santiment. Instead, they use smart contracts or layer 2 with less charge.
If this continues, Ethereum may have some disastrous economic problems. Investor sentiment is already fragile. Some analysts expect ether (ETH) prices to collapse to nearly $1,100 if they move south.
Ethereum Community responds to RISC-V proposals
Vitalik Buterin’s RISC-V concept is shaking the Ethereum community. Some developers praise it as a bold step that will help in the ethics of future habits. They believe that the move to RISC-V will make Ethereum more competitive with newer, faster blockchains like Solana and Sui.
However, some are worried that redesigning the execution layer will become a huge project full of risk. It involves building a portion of Ethereum from scratch. It takes at least years, requires a lot of resources, and can present new vulnerabilities.
It also raises questions about how developers and projects port old smart contracts to new systems. This can cause a lot of trouble with backward compatibility.
This proposal led many to conclude that Ethereum needs to evolve to remain relevant. As the next generation of blockchains move forward at extremely important times and snap popper speeds, Ethereum needs to move forward while innovating to maintain its essential spirit.
The community drafted suggestions for public comments in response to the proposal. If accepted, it could mark the beginning of a new chapter in Ethereum. It’s time for the network to redeem itself for a future where competition is plentiful.
