Are ETH Developers Considering Replacing the EVM with RISC-V?
Welcome to The Protocol, your weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, the Ethereum protocol reporter for Hotnchill’s Tech team.
In this issue:
– Vitalik Buterin Proposes Replacing Ethereum’s EVM With RISC-V
– Matter Labs, ZKsync Developer, Sued for Alleged Intellectual Property Theft
– Scroll’s Euclid Upgrade Pushes It Into ‘Stage 1’ Decentralization Era
– EigenLayer Adds Key ‘Slashing’ Feature, Completing Original Vision
This article is part of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter that explores the tech behind crypto, block by block. Ensure you’re subscribed to receive it each Wednesday.
Network News
SWAPPING THE EVM FOR RISC-V?: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared a bold proposal that could significantly change the system that operates its smart contracts. Buterin’s suggestion, posted on Ethereum’s primary developer forum, involves replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the software engine that drives applications on the network, with RISC-V, a popular open-source framework known for built-in encryption and other advantages. The EVM has historically been a cornerstone of Ethereum’s architecture, enabling seamless application connectivity across EVM-compatible chains, and allowing developers to transition easily to building within Ethereum. Buterin believes this shift to a RISC-V architecture will “greatly improve the efficiency of the Ethereum execution layer, resolving one of the primary scaling bottlenecks, and simplifying the execution layer.” — Margaux Nijkerk
MATTER LABS SUED FOR ALLEGED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT: Matter Labs, the company behind the layer-2 blockchain ZKSync, is facing a lawsuit from BANKEX, a defunct digital asset banking platform, for alleged intellectual property theft. According to a complaint filed on March 19 in the New York State Supreme Court, former BANKEX employees Alexandr Vlasov and Petr Korolev are accused of misappropriating the company’s technology to establish Matter Labs, which has since secured over $450 million in venture capital funding and is now a significant player in the blockchain sector. The complaint, naming BANKEX CEO Igor Khmel and the BANKEX Foundation as plaintiffs, alleges that BANKEX was approached by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in 2017 regarding operational software for “Plasma,” a technology intended to make Ethereum more cost-effective. — Margaux Nijkerk
SCROLL EUCLID UPGRADE BRINGS IN STAGE-1 DECENTRALIZATION ERA: Scroll, the Ethereum layer-2 network, announced the launch of its Euclid upgrade, described as its most significant protocol transformation to date. As stated by Scroll Labs, this upgrade marks the transition of Scroll from a “stage 0” to a “stage 1” rollup, as it discontinues some centrally-controlled safety features to enhance decentralization. “Euclid represents the biggest leap forward for Scroll since its inception,” the team shared in a blog post. “It’s a statement about Scroll’s future and its commitment to advancing the possibilities in the ZK Rollup space.” — Margaux Nijkerk
EIGENLAYER ‘SLASHING’ FEATURE FINALLY GOES LIVE: Nearly one year after Ethereum protocol EigenLayer debuted its “restaking” network to considerable industry excitement, it is now incorporating a core feature that had been notably absent: “slashing.” Eigen Labs anticipates that slashing — EigenLayer’s mechanism for ensuring “restakers” remain accountable by forfeiting collateral for malicious actions — will fulfill the protocol’s initial vision. “We are pleased to announce that the complete promise has been realized,” stated EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan. — Sam Kessler
In Other News
Traders shorting Strategy (MSTR), the bitcoin buyer whose share price surged by 13% in March, may encounter challenges in securing sufficient stock to settle their loans linked to expectations of a decrease in the company’s value. Data from the SEC and Fintel indicate that over $180 million worth of trades in MSTR stock failed to settle last month. These occurrences, termed Failures to Deliver (FTDs), happen when a seller fails to provide shares to the buyer by the settlement deadline, which is now one business day after the trade (T+1). — James Van Straten and AI Boost
Bitcoin (BTC) has reached the fifth-largest asset by market capitalization, hitting $1.86 trillion and surpassing Google (GOOG) while breaking through $94,000. This represents the highest position bitcoin has ever secured in the rankings, despite previously exceeding $2 trillion when its price surpassed $109,000. At that point, technology stocks were considerably higher than currently observed. — James Van Straten
Regulatory and Policy
Paul Atkins has officially been sworn in as the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with Mark Uyeda returning to his previous role as a Republican Commissioner after serving as the agency’s interim leader for three months. Atkins replaces former chair Gary Gensler, who was largely viewed by the crypto industry as its main adversary within the U.S. government. — Jesse Hamilton
Fundraising for advanced crypto investment vehicles has not yet experienced the expected favorable momentum attributed to the recent political landscape, according to a report by the Crypto Insight Group. The Hedge Fund Outlook 2Q25 report indicates that momentum “remains positive but slower than [fund] managers had hoped with the current administration.” — Jamie Crawley
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