Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, has proposed a significant transformation for the network’s execution pillar by suggesting a transition from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contract language to the RISC-V instruction set architecture.
In a proposal released on April 20, Buterin highlighted several critical constraints that Ethereum must overcome to ensure its scalability and ongoing competitiveness in the blockchain landscape.
Key areas identified include enhancing data availability sampling, fostering robust competition in block production, and refining the generation of zero-knowledge proofs.
Buterin Advocates for RISC-V to Enhance Ethereum’s Zero-Knowledge Features
Buterin articulated that the integration of RISC-V could pave the way for substantial improvements in these domains, especially with respect to zero-knowledge capabilities, which are becoming increasingly vital to Ethereum’s long-term success.
“The beam chain initiative holds significant potential for streamlining Ethereum’s consensus layer,” Buterin stated. “However, for the execution layer to achieve similar advantages, a transformative approach such as this might be the only feasible route.”
This proposal emerges amid increasing pressure on Ethereum to keep up with newer, high-throughput blockchain platforms like Solana and Sui.
These alternative networks provide faster and more affordable transaction options, enticing a growing user and developer base.
At the same time, Ethereum’s revenue from “blob fees” — a type of transaction fee generated by layer-2 networks — has significantly decreased.
Data from Etherscan indicates that blob fees fell to a mere 3.18 ETH (around $5,000) in the week ending March 30, while average network fees in April 2025 hit a five-year low of $0.16 per transaction.
Brian Quinlivan, marketing director at Santiment, attributes this decline in fees to a reduction in activities on the Ethereum base layer, as users increasingly turn to layer-2 solutions.
While these networks assist in lowering transaction costs, they have also diverted substantial fee revenue from Ethereum’s foundational infrastructure.
BREAKING: Ethereum fees are at a 5-year low, with transactions currently costing just $0.168. This represents the lowest daily cost for $ETH transfers since May 2, 2020. Our latest insight provides an overview.
https://t.co/fg5CfRgsHn pic.twitter.com/QlLwyzdm1F
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 16, 2025
This trend raises questions about the future viability of the Ethereum base layer.
With ETH prices already facing downward pressure, analysts caution that a continued decline in base-layer activity could further decrease Ether’s value, potentially dropping it to around $1,100 if sentiment among investors does not improve.
VC Links Layer-2 Networks to Diminishing Appeal of Ether
In a recent commentary, crypto venture capitalist Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures identified two primary factors weakening Ether’s value: the emergence of layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions and unchecked token issuance.
Carter asserted that “greedy Eth L2s” are extracting value from Ethereum’s base layer without adequately contributing back.
He further criticized the Ethereum ecosystem for allowing excessive token creation, claiming that “ETH was buried in an avalanche of its own tokens. Died by its own hand.”
His remarks echoed a similar bleak outlook from Quinn Thompson, founder of Lekker Capital, who stated that Ethereum’s investment potential is “completely dead.”
Thompson pointed to declining transaction volumes, stagnant user growth, and dwindling network revenues as indicators that ETH lacks a compelling investment proposition, despite its functionality as a blockchain platform.
Make no mistake, $ETH as an investment is completely dead. A $225 billion market cap network that is seeing declines in transaction activity, user growth and fees/revenues. There is no investment case here. As a network with utility? Yes. As an investment? Absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/XjZNjPjy2s
— Quinn Thompson (@qthomp) March 28, 2025
Last September, Carter warned that Ethereum’s fee revenue had declined by 99% over the previous six months as L2 networks captured user engagement and revenue, all while offering little to bolster Ethereum’s base layer.
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