I noticed that Ethereum is preparing significant upgrades at the execution level. We're talking about two major changes — in the architecture of the state tree and the virtual machine itself.

First, about the state tree. Currently, a hexadecimal keccak MPT structure is used, but they plan to switch to a binary tree. It sounds technical, but the essence is simple — this will reduce the Merkle branches by four times. The result is that data verification on the client side will become faster, and throughput will decrease. For projects like Helios and PIR, this is a substantial gain.

Another interesting point is that with the new structure, access to neighboring storage slots will become cheaper. For many decentralized applications, this means saving over 10,000 gas per transaction. Not bad, right?

Now, about the virtual machine. This involves transitioning from the current EVM to a more modern RISC-V-based VM. Why? To simplify the protocol, improve execution efficiency, and make life easier for proof developers in zero-knowledge applications.

The deployment plan appears phased — first, a new VM for precompilations, then users will be able to deploy contracts on NewVM, and eventually, the old EVM will be replaced by smart contracts written on the new VM. This should address proof efficiency issues and open new possibilities for client proofs. It’s exciting to watch how the ecosystem develops.