Buterin Calls for Ethereum Overhaul to Tackle Scaling Bottlenecks

Ethereum's co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for an overhaul of the network's core architecture, citing two deep-layer components as major bottlenecks to scaling through zero-knowledge technology. These components are the state tree and the virtual machine, which together account for more than 80% of proving costs.

The proposed solution, outlined in EIP-7864, involves replacing Ethereum's current hexary Merkle Patricia tree with a simpler binary tree design. This change would produce shorter Merkle proofs, reducing verification bandwidth and making lightweight clients cheaper to run.

Buterin also envisions moving away from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) in favor of a RISC-V-based architecture, which he believes will further improve scalability. He proposes phasing this transition, starting with precompiles and eventually absorbing the EVM as a compatibility layer.