Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has called for the removal of the modular exponentiation precompile (modexp), a feature he originally invented, due to its severe impact on the network's zero-knowledge proof capabilities. In a recent statement on X, Buterin revealed that modexp creates verification bottlenecks up to 50 times worse than average blocks when generating zero-knowledge proofs, directly impeding Ethereum's scaling efforts for privacy-first infrastructure and the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM).
Buterin acknowledged his role in creating the problematic feature, stating he "bows his head in shame" while advocating for its replacement with computationally equivalent code. This change would increase gas costs but dramatically reduce proof generation complexity and mitigate consensus failure risks from potential edge cases and bugs. The proposal suggests using standard EVM bytecode or alternative cryptographic systems like SNARKs for applications requiring modexp, which is primarily used in RSA encryption and signing by minimal user groups.
The initiative aligns with Ethereum's broader push toward privacy and institutional adoption, including the Ethereum Foundation's recent launch of "Ethereum for Institutions" and a 47-member Privacy Cluster. These efforts focus on zero-knowledge proofs, fully homomorphic encryption, and trusted execution environments to support compliant, audit-ready applications. Ethereum currently dominates real-world asset tokenization and stablecoin sectors, hosting over 75% of tokenized RWAs and 60% of global stablecoin supply, with layer-2 networks like Base and Scroll securing over $50 billion in value.
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