Cartesi Ecosystem Update Report April 2025

Before RISC-V became a hot topic in 2025, it had already been deeply embedded in the core of the Cartesi protocol. Since 2018, Cartesi has chosen RISC-V as the cornerstone of its infrastructure, believing it to be a bridge connecting mainstream software development with decentralized systems.

As an open-source, modular instruction set, RISC-V supports deterministic execution, formal verification, and is compatible with mature development tools. Its design is simple, adjustable, and forward-looking, capable of running a complete operating system. This not only allows Cartesi to be backward compatible but also achieves forward compatibility. Compared to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), RISC-V does not require developers to relearn basic computing operations and can provide a complete Linux environment, enabling a vast array of mature software tools, libraries, compilers, and innovations to be rapidly applied in the blockchain.

When Vitalik Buterin proposed migrating Ethereum’s execution environment to RISC-V, the long-standing strategic layout was validated, albeit with different motivations. RISC-V is not only a superior technological solution but also a strategically significant standardized blockchain infrastructure that is expected to bring profound changes to the industry ecosystem. As more and more blockchains adopt RISC-V, its advantages will begin to multiply. Upholding the philosophy of “standing on the shoulders of giants,” Cartesi has consistently advanced steadily along this path.

Next, let’s review the latest updates from the past month:

Technical Progress

• The second phase of Rollups is about to mature, the PRT fraud proof “Honeypot” application has been running on the testnet and is being optimized for performance. It will soon go live on the mainnet. The community can try to challenge it and discover potential vulnerabilities.
• The V2 version of Rollups is continuously advancing, with multiple Alpha versions released, introducing a new dApp node architecture that significantly reduces costs, while optimizing the JSON-RPC API and data availability, and enhancing integration with Espresso, Avail, and others.
• The node snapshot feature has also been developed, allowing users to regularly save their state and speed up restart times.
• The brand new browser (Explorer) is now live, adding new highlights to the technical evolution of V2.
• On the co-processor front, the team has released Cartesi Machine 0.19.0-alpha3, with significant performance improvements. A key change in EigenLayer is the introduction of Operator Sets, which have been deployed in Holesky to support the new mechanism, and the accompanying slashing mechanism is also ready. Additionally, the co-processor CLI has been integrated with the Cartesi CLI, greatly simplifying the development process. Detailed information can be found in the relevant meetings.

Ecosystem Dynamics

• Brazil Key Collaboration: Professor Antonio Rocha from UFF leads students in advancing local projects, with one student having deployed a “counter-machine learning” model on the Cartesi Machine to connect the RNP Brazil research blockchain network, showcasing the deep collaboration between local universities and industry.
• Application Implementation: The Federal University of Fluminense (UFF) in Brazil, in collaboration with the local government of Niterói City, launched a bus travel application based on Cartesi. Users can enjoy advantages such as trusted verification and privacy protection without needing to have knowledge of blockchain. This is an important part of promoting social applications.
• On-chain art platform - Drawing Canvas is upgrading to the latest version of Cartesi Rollups and Node. Performance testing is complete, and the testnet will soon be launched. We look forward to becoming the new “artist” in on-chain art. Follow the X account to stay updated on the latest news.
• Game Innovation - World Tycoon combines the well-known simulation city game with real economic elements, redefining the city-building gameplay in the crypto era. The team has completed Cartesi Grants funding and launched an online MVP, which is now open to private testers.

( Latest Updates on Cartesi Grants Program: New Breakthroughs in Developer Tools and Ecosystem Integration

)# 1. Think&Dev Board Game Development Framework Makes Significant Progress

• The development of the third and fourth milestones has been completed:
• Multi-Match Hall System: Supports simultaneous management of multiple game matches.
• XMTP Integration: Real-time chat functionality within the game
  • DRAND connection: Provides secure on-chain random number generation
• Significantly enhance the scalability and interactive experience of multiplayer turn-based games.

2. RiscZero and Cartesi Integration Solution Officially Released

• Core Value: Verifying complex off-chain computations through zero-knowledge proofs ###ZK###
• The developer resource package includes:
  • Detailed Technical Documentation
  • Complete example code
• Significantly simplify the development process of privacy-protecting dApps

(# 3. Cartesi-Chainlink cooperation enters the second phase

• Current Focus: In-depth Research on Technical Architecture
• Future will achieve:
  • Scheduled task trigger
  • Off-chain verifiable computation
  • Complex conditional logic processing

)# Developer Incentive Program

• Developers who successfully obtain funding are eligible for a reward of 500 USD in CTSI.
• Participate through the DevDrop program

Developer Promotion Cartesi places great importance on the quality of documentation, considering it crucial for developer adoption. We are committed to providing clear and user-friendly documentation and guidelines to foster community growth.

The developer promotion team is completely restructuring the Cartesi documentation, optimizing tutorials and the overall architecture to help developers better understand products such as Cartesi Machine, Cartesi Rollups, Dave, and Cartesi Coprocessor.

The Rust and Go frameworks have been updated to support the latest Node version, ensuring seamless integration with the Coprocessor. The Coprocessor toolchain is also being actively improved to facilitate developers.

The new episode of the podcast “I Build, Therefore I Am” (Brain to Board) is now live, focusing on ecosystem builders. João Garcia interviews Shaheen Ahmed (Comet application) and Michael Asiedu (RiscZero + Cartesi integration).

Community

In addition to the “fur logo” trend and the celebration of International Penguin Day, April is a month full of joy. In the Cartesi community’s Telegram group, we see everyone’s enthusiasm and activity, which makes us very happy. At the same time, we welcomed our AI partner “Plushie AI,” which has been trained on all Cartesi-related content to help us host the Easter egg hunt, with prizes of CTS I. Thanks to all the friends who participated! Did you miss out? Join Telegram to stay in touch with community members, chat with Plushie, and participate in more fun activities.

In different regions around the world, Mykhailo from Lviv is discussing with developers how to leverage Cartesi to achieve more innovative possibilities.

As for the anonymous users who continuously voice on X and are full of interesting memes? Go support them and give that “Cartesians” a follow! Also, if you have been active on Warpcast recently, don’t forget to join the /cartesi channel to help boost Cartesi’s growth on Farcaster!

Upcoming Events During the upcoming ETHLisbon conference in Lisbon, our Developer Promotion Lead João Garcia will serve as a mentor from May 9 to 11, ready to collaborate with developers and share his insights.

Every Monday, we hold the latest ecosystem update call, and additionally, a new episode of the “I Build, Therefore I Am” podcast will be released every two weeks. Stay tuned.

To learn more about the event schedule, you can check Cartesi’s public event calendar at any time.

Cartesi’s 2025 Acceleration Year

From the technical foundation to ecological applications, Cartesi’s RISC-V strategy is unleashing tremendous potential:

• Developer-friendly: The Linux environment attracts traditional developers to Web3.
• Real Use Cases: Public transport systems, blockchain games, and ZK proofs demonstrate diverse implementation capabilities.
• Community-Driven: Global developers collaborate with universities to drive long-term innovation.

Next key steps: Mainnet Rollups launch and deep integration with EigenLayer, Cartesi may become the benchmark for the RISC-V ecosystem.

About Cartesi

is a powerful modular blockchain protocol that provides developers with a complete Linux environment and high-performance Rollup technology, aimed at supporting the next generation of decentralized applications. By integrating Linux, the Cartesi Virtual Machine enables developers to build dApps using programming languages, tools, and code libraries that have been tested in real-world scenarios for decades. Cartesi provides each dApp with an independent Rollup layer and dedicated computing resources, significantly enhancing computational scalability while ensuring that decentralization, security, and censorship resistance remain unaffected.