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- Vitalik Buterin highlights leanVM, a zkVM proposal aiming to cut commitment costs with four-instruction ISA and multilinear STARKs.
- LeanVM focuses on XMSS aggregation and recursion, with current 2.7s recursion targeted for a tenfold performance improvement.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again delivered a major update that has caught the attention of many in the crypto community.
Buterin emphasized that throughout this year, the development team has successfully pushed Ethereum further in three key areas: scalability, decentralization, and network durability. He stated that several short-term goals are even close to being achieved, something that has been long awaited.
The lean Ethereum team has been doing a truly amazing job kicking into gear this year, and delivering on all fronts to ensure Ethereum's long-term scaling, decentralization and resilience.
I expect all of these ideas will be ready to kick into gear at roughly the same time as… https://t.co/4uimhAZI5N
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 6, 2025
Vitalik Buterin Highlights leanVM in Ethereum’s Roadmap
In the update, Vitalik highlighted the minimal zkVM proposal, called leanVM. He emphasized that the leanVM design is kept simple with only four instructions. Unlike the more complex Cairo, leanVM utilizes multilinear STARKs and logup lookup, two techniques that reduce commitment costs.
In other words, leanVM attempts to provide a lighter path to building verification systems on the Ethereum network.
The proposal is also optimized specifically for XMSS aggregation and recursion. These two technical terms may sound complicated, but the core message is simple: the goal is to make the process of proving and reiterating data faster and more efficient.
Currently, recursion still takes around 2.7 seconds, but there are hopes of a tenfold increase. Imagine if that target were achieved, the network’s ability to process proofs would far exceed its current state.
However, Vitalik has not confirmed whether leanVM will soon be included in the official Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP). Nevertheless, the fact that he highlighted it in a public forum indicates that the idea is considered important.
Furthermore, if leanVM proves successful, Ethereum will gain new technical ground to maintain scalability without sacrificing decentralization, something that has long been considered a major dilemma in the blockchain world.
Milestones in Blockchain and Vitalik’s Call on AI
On the other hand, Ethereum also celebrated a milestone this year. At the end of July, the network marked its 10th anniversary with the launch of a special NFT called the Ethereum Torch. This NFT passed from one community member to another, symbolizing Ethereum’s journey since 2015.
More than 100 global events were held, demonstrating the network’s widespread impact on finance, digital art, and technology as a whole.
Furthermore, last August, CNF reported that Vitalik also spoke on a different topic: artificial intelligence. He called for continued human involvement in AI development.
He argued that AI should be considered a “machine,” while humans act as the “rudder” that determines its direction. This statement demonstrates his consistent emphasis on the balance between cutting-edge technology and human control, something that also seems relevant to Ethereum’s decentralization principles.
Interestingly, these two seemingly disparate issues—AI and blockchain—are actually both about control, efficiency, and the future of digital systems.
So, it’s natural for Vitalik to emphasize that technical breakthroughs like leanVM aren’t just about reducing costs or speeding up recursion. More than that, he wants to demonstrate that Ethereum still has ample room for innovation amid the fierce competition in the crypto world.
Meanwhile, as of the writing time, ETH is trading at about $4,294.69, slightly up 0.02% over the last 24 hours and 9.99% over the last 30 days.
