The Ethereum Virtual Machine never stands still. New features, performance improvements, and security upgrades are introduced with every hard fork. As the Scalable Ethereum Virtual Machine (SEVM) that is unique to Redbelly builds on top of this technology, staying aligned is essential.
At Redbelly, this process of maintaining near-parity with Ethereum is built into the engineering workflow. It ensures developers can use the latest Solidity compilers, opcodes, and frameworks without friction, while enterprises gain confidence that Redbelly remains future-proof and compatible with evolving standards.
Why Compatibility Matters;
The pace of Ethereum’s innovation means that every few months, new Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) become part of the SEVM’s core logic. Supporting these changes keeps the ecosystem unified and makes it easier for developers to move between chains.
For Redbelly, compatibility also carries a bigger purpose:
- Developers can build using familiar Ethereum tooling, knowing that contracts will behave as expected on Redbelly.
- Enterprises benefit from stability, faster integrations, and the assurance that the network won’t become isolated from the broader ecosystem.
Maintaining alignment with Ethereum goes beyond simply mirroring code. It’s a process of selective adoption, integrating upgrades that strengthen Redbelly’s design while excluding any that would hamper the security and performance optimisations that define the network. Redbelly does not seek to be Ethereum; it focuses on adopting only the features that complement its superior security, performance, and accountability.
How Redbelly Keeps in Sync
Redbelly’s engineering team follows a structured, partially automated process to stay aligned with the latest Ethereum updates, while retaining the key features of Redbelly, including quasi-instant finality, high performance, and accountability.
1. Monitoring new Geth releases
A GitHub pipeline automatically scans for new releases of go-ethereum (Geth). When one is detected:
- A pull request (PR) is created against Redbelly’s customized fork (geth-rbn).
- Any merge conflicts are included for manual review.
- A Jira ticket is automatically raised, logging the release for prioritisation and tracking.
This ensures no new Ethereum update is missed and the process begins within days of a new upstream release.
- A pull request (PR) is created against Redbelly’s customized fork (geth-rbn).
2. Reviewing and resolving changes
Once a Jira task is assigned, engineers review all upstream modifications. Merge conflicts are resolved carefully so Redbelly-specific code isn’t overwritten. Any lines of code unique to Redbelly are clearly tagged with [REDBELLY CHANGES], helping reviewers separate upstream changes from Redbelly’s own enhancements.
3. Code review and approval
After integration, the PR must be approved by a Senior Software Engineer or above. Reviewers verify that both Redbelly and Ethereum changes have been correctly merged before approving the new geth-rbn version.
4. Integration with SEVM
Next, a pull request is created in the SEVM (Scalable Ethereum Virtual Machine) repository. Integration tests are run automatically:
- The system checks that Redbelly’s SEVM can execute all new Ethereum functionality.
- Docker images and pipeline variables are updated to point to the new geth-rbn build.
- Any failed tests are fixed before the SEVM branch is merged and a new binary is produced.
- The system checks that Redbelly’s SEVM can execute all new Ethereum functionality.
5. Testing on devnet and testnet
Before any release goes live, binaries are tested on development and test networks.
- A few devnet nodes are upgraded first, verifying stability and backwards compatibility.
- Additional candidate nodes are then updated on testnet to confirm that transactions, syncing, and performance behave as expected.
This multi-stage testing ensures that breaking changes are caught early and only well-tested upgrades reach production.
- A few devnet nodes are upgraded first, verifying stability and backwards compatibility.
Release Strategy
Redbelly maintains two release paths:
- Minor / Non-breaking releases: Routine updates, patch fixes, or small enhancements that don’t require consensus changes.
- Breaking releases: Major upgrades that include new EIPs introduced through Ethereum hard forks, such as Cancun or Pectra.
Each breaking release enables a new set of Ethereum features under Redbelly’s own release flag. For example, in the Malabar release, all relevant Cancun and Pectra EIPs were enabled, including transient storage opcodes like TLOAD and TSTORE that improve contract efficiency.
Before activation, every supported EIP is tested through targeted integration suites to confirm that supported features work correctly and unsupported ones return predictable responses.
Balancing Compatibility and Design
Redbelly’s SEVM maintains close alignment with the Ethereum Virtual Machine while carefully evaluating each new feature for its relevance to the network’s design. Some EIPs, particularly those tied to Ethereum’s inherent forkable nature, aren’t relevant to Redbelly’s leaderless consensus architecture.
This balance is key:
- Redbelly adopts the EVM and developer layer improvements that matter most.
- It omits or adapts features that don’t align with its performance, compliance, or consensus goals.
The result is an ecosystem that feels familiar to Ethereum developers but operates with the efficiency and determinism required for institutional-grade finance.
Continuous Evolution
Malabar exemplifies this process in action. By enabling new opcodes, integrating EIP-7702 smart accounts, and improving node performance, it shows how Redbelly’s compatibility engine keeps the network both current and competitive.
Looking ahead, the same process will prepare Redbelly for upcoming innovations such as Blob transactions (EIP-4844) and future EVM improvements.
Compatibility is a continuous rhythm of monitoring, merging, and validating. Through this disciplined process, Redbelly’s SEVM stays in step with the Ethereum Virtual Machine while retaining the key features of Redbelly, including quasi-instant finality, high performance, and accountability, as it continues to push the boundaries of compliant blockchain infrastructure.