Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a radical architectural shift that could have far-reaching implications for the entire Ethereum ecosystem, including popular Layer 2 solutions like Shibarium, the blockchain underpinning Shiba Inu.
Notably, on April 20, Buterin published a detailed proposal suggesting that Ethereum transition from its current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) architecture to the open RISC-V architecture, a move he describes as comparable in ambition to the Beam Chain upgrade.
Buterin said the transition to RISC-V could be “the only way to significantly increase the efficiency of the network’s execution layer.” RISC-V is an alternative processor and software architecture competing with ARM and x86, offering potentially superior performance characteristics for blockchain applications.
The proposal addresses several critical scaling issues facing Ethereum’s Layer 1, particularly maintaining competitive block production and overcoming the current limitations of ZK-EVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine) implementations.
Meanwhile, Shiba Inu, which operates on Shibarium, a Layer 2 solution built on Ethereum technology, could be substantially impacted by such a fundamental change. As Shibarium inherits its base architecture from Ethereum, any improvements to Ethereum’s Layer 1 would cascade to benefit the entire Shiba ecosystem.
According to a post by Shibizens, an X account providing updates on the Shiba Inu ecosystem, this architectural shift could offer several advantages to Shibarium and, by extension, the Shiba Inu token:
First, smart contract execution would become more efficient, with faster transaction processing and reduced latency. This enhanced performance could make the Shiba ecosystem more appealing for decentralized applications requiring high throughput.
Second, the improved architecture could significantly lower gas costs, addressing one of the persistent pain points for users of Ethereum-based platforms. Lower transaction fees would make the Shiba ecosystem more accessible to a broader range of users, potentially driving adoption.
Third, the proposal’s emphasis on improving ZK-proof performance opens new possibilities for Layer 2 solutions like Shibarium to implement enhanced privacy features or further scalability improvements through ZK-rollups.
Perhaps most importantly, Buterin’s proposal aims to maintain backward compatibility, meaning existing tools like Solidity would continue to function. This approach ensures that Shibarium wouldn’t need to undergo disruptive structural changes to benefit from the upgraded architecture.
That said, while the proposal remains in its early stages and would require extensive development and community consensus before implementation, it represents a promising long-term roadmap for Ethereum-based projects. For the Shiba Inu community, it signals that their underlying technology foundation continues to evolve and improve, potentially strengthening their position in the crypto landscape.