Ethereum Scales From Within as Buterin Targets State Tree and Virtual Machine

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is calling for a fundamental overhaul of the network's core architecture, arguing that more than 80% of proving costs come from two deep-layer components: the state tree and the virtual machine. He believes these bottlenecks must be redesigned if the protocol is to scale through zero-knowledge technology.

The proposal centers around EIP-7864, which would replace Ethereum's current hexary Merkle Patricia tree with a simpler binary tree design. This change would produce Merkle proofs roughly four times shorter than the existing structure, cutting verification bandwidth and making lightweight clients far cheaper to run.

Beyond the state tree, Buterin outlined a longer-term vision to move past the Ethereum Virtual Machine altogether in favor of a RISC-V-based architecture. He proposed a phased deployment: RISC-V would first power precompiles, then support user-deployed contracts, and eventually absorb the EVM itself as a compatibility layer.

Analyst DBCrypto criticized what he described as growing abstraction across the Ethereum roadmap, arguing that each additional layer increases complexity, introduces trust assumptions, and creates potential attack surfaces.