Starknet Weighs Leaving Ethereum to Build a Quantum-Resistant Layer 1
Starknet's STRK token more than doubled in seven days as its developers weighed leaving Ethereum to build a standalone Layer 1 blockchain.
CoinGlass data captured at 20:28 UTC on Oct. 11 showed STRK at $0.1190, up 17.7% over 24 hours and 116.7% over the week.
On Oct. 8, Starknet said it was actively considering a move to L1, targeting 2027 for what it describes as the first fully quantum-resistant network. Such a shift would end its reliance on Ethereum's underlying security layer.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has cast the potential transition as a response to mounting concern that advances in quantum computing and artificial intelligence could erode existing blockchain cryptography.
In a post on X, he argued the quantum threat could arrive sooner than expected and that increasingly capable AI adds urgency to preparations. The debate follows recent AI-assisted progress in mathematical research.
His case rests on preparing for a cryptographically relevant quantum computer. It does not show that AI can already break signatures deployed on blockchains.
Starknet's ZK-STARK proof system depends on hash-based cryptographic assumptions rather than the elliptic-curve mechanisms that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break. The network also supports programmable accounts, letting users adopt alternative signature schemes without a network-wide upgrade.
In June, StarkWare published a three-phase roadmap covering vulnerable hashing mechanisms, legacy smart contracts and dependencies inherited from Ethereum. Starknet controls the first two phases. The third hinges on Ethereum's own migration.
Starknet currently runs as an Ethereum Layer 2, processing transactions separately while relying on Ethereum for settlement and data availability. That leaves its bridge infrastructure and Ethereum-based data commitments exposed to cryptographic dependencies beyond Starknet's direct control.
In September, the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol cluster set a December 2029 target for quantum resistance across Ethereum's execution, consensus and data layers. An independent Starknet would need its own security and settlement model to replace the protections Ethereum provides.
The Oct. 8 announcement sets out a consideration and a quantum-resistance goal, not an approved migration timetable.
The same Oct. 11 CoinGlass snapshot showed about $258.5 million in futures open interest and $3.5 billion in 24-hour futures volume, alongside roughly $14.8 million in total futures liquidations over 24 hours.
CoinMarketCap data checked on Oct. 11 showed about $720 million in 24-hour trading volume against a market capitalization of roughly $892 million.
The rally comes ahead of an Oct. 15 token unlock. Tokenomist lists the date, and Starknet's published vesting schedule allows up to 127 million STRK to unlock each month for early contributors and investors through March 2027. At the Oct. 11 CoinGlass price, that maximum tranche would be worth about $15.1 million, equal to 1.27% of Starknet's original 10 billion-token supply.
An unlock makes previously restricted tokens transferable. It does not establish how many recipients will sell.
