Lab Name
rethv
Short Description
An experimental Ethereum execution client exploring a node implementation where smart contracts run in a RISC-V virtual machine instead of the EVM.
Scope of Lab
rethv will be an experimental fork of Reth that replaces the Ethereum Virtual Machine execution path with a RISC-V virtual machine.
The goal of the lab is to create an open reference implementation for studying whether a RISC-V execution environment can simplify blockchain execution and improve compatibility with modern zero-knowledge proving systems.
The lab will focus on:
- Integrating a RISC-V VM into the Reth execution client.
- Supporting a local Ethereum devnet that can execute RISC-V smart contracts.
- Providing developer documentation and examples for building, deploying, and testing contracts in the RISC-V execution environment.
- Producing benchmarks comparing the EVM execution path with the RISC-V execution path.
- Evaluating zero-knowledge proving trade-offs, including proving time, memory usage, and cost.
The lab may reuse or study related open source work such as R55 and other RISC-V/Ethereum research, but its focus is broader client-level integration, reproducible devnet operation, and concrete system measurements.
Relevant references:
Initial Committers
- Salaheldin Soliman - https://github.com/salaheldinsoliman
Sponsor
- David Boswell (dboswell@linuxfoundation.org; Discord: davidwboswell) - Maintainer, LF Decentralized Trust Labs
- Sean Young (sean@mess.org) - https://github.com/seanyoung
Pre-existing repository
None