Vitalik Buterin Advocates for Elimination of Ethereum’s ‘Least ZK-Compatible’ Attribute

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has suggested the removal of a significant blockchain feature he initially developed, asserting that it greatly hinders the network’s scaling capabilities.

The modular exponentiation precompile, referred to as modexp, creates verification bottlenecks that are up to 50 times worse than typical blocks when producing zero-knowledge proofs, as stated by Buterin in a recent post on X.

This proposal comes as Ethereum amplifies its efforts toward a privacy-centric infrastructure, while concurrently tackling technical challenges that obstruct the adoption of the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine.

Buterin recognized his involvement in the creation of the problematic feature, expressing that he “bows his head in shame” while advocating for its substitution with computationally equivalent code that would increase gas costs but significantly lessen proof generation complexity.

As the original inventor of the modexp precompile I bow my head in shame
But modexp really does hold Ethereum back so much. Both because of inefficiency, and because its complexity has exposed our ecosystem to huge amounts of consensus failure risk.
We could do heroic…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) November 3, 2025

The Technical Burden Holding Back Ethereum’s ZK Ambitions

Zero-knowledge EVMs produce cryptographic proofs that validate Ethereum computations off-chain, facilitating quicker transaction processing without compromising security.

The prover component responsible for generating these proofs faces significant challenges with modexp operations, which are mainly utilized in RSA encryption and signing functions used by minimal applications.

Buterin clarified that modexp’s computational demands lead to disproportionate delays in proof generation, directly hindering rollups and layer-2 solutions intended to enhance Ethereum.

The complexity of this feature also introduces risks of consensus failure due to potential edge cases and bugs that could threaten network stability.

Instead of allocating optimization resources to a feature impacting 0.01% of users, Buterin proposed replacing the precompile with standard EVM bytecode that achieves the same outcomes at increased gas costs.

Source: Ethereum Magician

Applications that require modular exponentiation (modexp) functionality could alternatively encapsulate operations in SNARKs, a different cryptographic proof system that alleviates inefficiency.

This compromise prioritizes ecosystem stability and scaling advancements over preserving legacy features with limited use cases, especially as Ethereum confronts more pressing performance issues.

The proposed Ethereum Improvement Proposal would fundamentally alter how the network manages cryptographic operations that are burdensome for zero-knowledge proof systems.

Institutional Gateway Opens as Privacy Solutions Mature

In late October, the Ethereum Foundation introduced “Ethereum for Institutions,” offering enterprises and financial organizations structured pathways for blockchain integration.

The initiative utilizes zero-knowledge proofs, fully homomorphic encryption, and trusted execution environments to facilitate compliant, audit-ready applications on public networks.

Projects such as Chainlink, RAILGUN, Aztec Network, and Zama are at the forefront of developing privacy-preserving smart contracts that protect counterparty information and business logic without compromising transparency or composability.

The Ethereum Foundation has launched “Ethereum for Institutions” — a new portal to guide enterprises, financial institutions, and developers building on Ethereum’s infrastructure.#Ethereum #ETH https://t.co/NjRwr0E1Pz

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 29, 2025

These production-ready solutions meet institutional needs for balancing compliance requirements with secure, programmable finance.

Ethereum leads in the real-world asset and stablecoin sectors, hosting over 75% of tokenized RWAs and 60% of the global stablecoin supply.

Prominent financial firms, including BlackRock, Securitize, and Ondo Finance, utilize tokenized instruments that provide 24/7 settlement, transparency, and composability.

Layer-2 networks, such as Base, Scroll, and Unichain, now secure over $50 billion in value, offering throughput and cost efficiency for global-scale applications.

Privacy Infrastructure Accelerates Alongside Technical Refinements

The Ethereum Foundation established its 47-member Privacy Cluster in October, coordinated by Blockscout founder Igor Barinov, building on efforts initiated in 2018 through the Privacy and Scaling Explorations team.

The cluster focuses on critical areas concerning surveillance, private data verification, selective identity disclosure, user experience enhancements, and support for institutional adoption.

This initiative follows the September rebranding of the Privacy and Scaling Explorations team to Privacy Stewards for Ethereum, shifting the emphasis from theoretical research to practical solutions.

Ethereum Foundation launches 47-member Privacy Cluster led by Igor Barinov targeting private transactions, identity, and institutional adoption.#Ethereum #Privacyhttps://t.co/nXyyPyAmvR

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 9, 2025

The foundation cautioned that without strong privacy protections, Ethereum risks becoming “the backbone of global surveillance rather than global freedom,” potentially steering institutions and users toward alternative platforms.

Last month, Vitalik also elaborated on GKR, a cryptographic method that verifies calculations ten times faster than conventional techniques while enabling zero-knowledge proofs that confirm computational accuracy without revealing underlying data.

The protocol processes 2 million calculations per second on standard laptops. It validates entire Ethereum transactions using just fifty consumer-grade graphics cards, in contrast to traditional methods that require 100 times more computational effort than the original calculations.

This advancement is significant as it allows for quicker verification, leading to lower transaction costs and improved privacy across the network.

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