The NeoVM-compatible RISC-V virtual machine solution for Neo 4 passed block-by-block state root validation against the complete Neo MainNet dataset, validating the design beyond the concept stage. Neo co-founder and lead developer Erik Zhang shared the milestone and explained the results validated that the approach produces identical state transitions in existing systems.
This work follows Zhang’s draft Neo 4 roadmap published in September 2025, which proposed NeoVM 2 as a next-generation virtual machine with RISC-V compatibility, fine-grained gas metering, and improved cost efficiency. At the time, Zhang said that the adoption of RISC-V would allow Neo to onboard existing developer infrastructure, improve efficiency, and improve support for zero-knowledge proofs.
Architecture and validation
This implementation integrates PolkaVM, a RISC-V-based virtual machine originally developed by Parity Technologies for the Polkadot ecosystem, into the Neo execution environment. An architecture diagram shared by Neo Core developer Jimmy Liao shows a layered design. Neo Core C# nodes interface with the PolkaVM host runtime written in Rust via an external function interface bridge, and a RISC-V sandbox layer supports both legacy NeoVM bytecode and native RISC-V contracts.
We now have a NeoVM compatible RISC-V VM solution. Shows root-level validations that passed for all blocks on mainnet data. This is a work that is still being explored. pic.twitter.com/GY2RKjU9U1
— jimmy.neo (@r3ejimmy) April 11, 2026
State root validation works by comparing cryptographic hashes that represent the entire blockchain state at each block height. By running the new VM implementation for every MainNet block and ensuring that the state roots matched across, the team demonstrated functional equivalence between the RISC-V-based system and the existing NeoVM.
There are two paths to Neo’s future.
Zhang said the validated solution opens two avenues for Neo’s development. It’s about maintaining compatibility with the existing NeoVM contract ecosystem and creating room to run native RISC-V contracts. he said:
“While this is still exploratory work, the direction is clear: expand Neo’s VM capabilities and developer possibilities without fragmenting the existing ecosystem.”
The dual-path approach is consistent with the broader Neo 4 design philosophy, which emphasizes full backwards compatibility to ensure that existing tokens, smart contracts, and applications deployed on Neo N3 continue to function without migration or redeployment.
RISC-V is an open-source instruction set architecture that allows smart contracts to be compiled to a standard instruction set rather than custom bytecode, potentially expanding support for languages and tools. Other blockchain projects, including Ethereum, are considering RISC-V as a complement or replacement for existing VM architectures.
Zhang’s original announcement can be found at the link below.
https://x.com/erikzhang/status/2042992425145160183
