Can general riscv binary programs run directly in zkEVM?

[SYSUljz]

In addition to ZKPs, what is the difference between zkEVM and the general RISCV-VM?

[quietBlockchain]

Great question!

zkEVMs and RISC-V based zkVMs both use zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to verify computations, but they differ significantly in architecture and intended use cases.

zkEVM is designed to be fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. That means smart contracts written in Solidity can run with little to no modification. It's ideal for projects that want to benefit from ZKPs while staying within the Ethereum ecosystem.

RISC-V zkVMs (like SP1) are general-purpose zero-knowledge virtual machines. They can execute programs written in high-level languages like Rust or C, compiled via LLVM. This makes them more flexible and powerful for use cases beyond Ethereum — such as app-specific blockchains, privacy-preserving ML, or generic compute proofs.

In short:

Use zkEVM if you need EVM compatibility.

Use RISC-V zkVM if you're building something more general-purpose and need performance/flexibility.

Hope that helps!