Three Projects Were Early Adopters of RISC-V Before Vitalik’s Endorsement

RISC-V, an open-source blockchain instruction set, has surged in popularity among Ethereum developers following a high-profile endorsement from Vitalik Buterin. The Ethereum co-founder’s backing has sparked debate: some crypto veterans applaud his foresight, while others question why he didn’t champion the technology sooner. Unlike the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), RISC-V isn’t a virtual machine—it’s a well-established processor architecture with years of technical documentation. Yet despite its technical complexity, the ecosystem is now abuzz with speculation about its potential to supplant the EVM. "When Vitalik speaks, the market listens," remarked a blockchain engineer at a competing Layer 1 project, speaking on condition of anonymity. The endorsement comes at a pivotal moment for Ethereum, which faces mounting pressure to streamline its infrastructure ahead of upcoming scalability upgrades.