RISC-V is a simple, open-source processor architecture used in modern hardware that can also serve as a virtual machine for executing smart contracts, offering a streamlined alternative to Ethereum’s current EVM.

Quotes that support claims

The Ethereum co-founder argued that implementing the RISC-V architecture in smart contracts would... improve the efficiency of zero knowledge functions

Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed overhauling the blockchain’s smart contract infrastructure by replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V, a widely adopted open-source instruction set architecture.