Vitalik Buterin outlines Ethereum execution layer roadmap with binary state trees and potential RISCV-based VM

Vitalik Buterin detailed planned execution layer upgrades for Ethereum, highlighting state tree changes and possible virtual machine evolution in a new post. The roadmap includes replacing the current hexary keccak Merkle Patricia Tree with a binary tree using a more efficient hash function such as blake3 or a Poseidon variant, aiming to deliver around 4x shorter Merkle branches, 3–4x proving gains from structure plus hashing, cheaper adjacent slot access via paged storage, lower variance in access depth, and a simpler design that can support future metadata for state expiry, with work led by @gballet and other contributors. Buterin also argued for a longer-term shift from the EVM to a more efficient, prover-friendly VM like RISCV, noting that such a design could reduce the need for many precompiles, align better with existing RISCV-based provers, and make client-side proving more practical. His proposed deployment path envisions first using a NewVM (for example RISCV) for precompiles, then allowing NewVM contracts, and finally turning the EVM into a smart contract written in the NewVM to maintain backward compatibility while improving simplicity and prover efficiency.