Starknet said on Oct. 22, 2026 that a seven-day Snapshot governance poll ended with more than 93.5% of voting power supporting a feasibility study on whether the network should evolve from an Ethereum Layer 2 into an independent post-quantum Layer 1 mainnet. More than 2,800 independent active wallets participated.
Draft white paper planned for November 2026
After the vote, StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said on X that the core engineering team plans to release a draft white paper for a post-quantum L1 architecture in November 2026. The document is expected to be opened for public review by developers and the academic community.
Why Starknet sees a limit in the current Ethereum L2 model
According to technical material published on Starknet’s official portal, the network has relied on STARK zero-knowledge proofs since its inception. The report says the underlying mathematical proofs are built entirely on hash-based cryptography, which gives them native resistance to quantum attacks by Shor’s algorithm against discrete logarithms and elliptic curves.
With native account abstraction, users can switch to post-quantum signature schemes at the application layer without waiting for a hard fork at the base protocol level.
But Starknet still runs as a rollup. Its onchain verification contracts for state validity proofs, as well as final data availability, remain tied to Ethereum mainnet. The article argues that if Ethereum’s own consensus signatures and execution-layer elliptic curve cryptography have not been rebuilt for post-quantum security, then any Layer 2 that depends on Ethereum would still be constrained by the security of the settlement layer underneath it. That structural dependency is presented as a core reason the team is considering a sovereign base-layer chain.
The poll does not mean a fork or migration has started
StarkWare said the poll should be read as authorization for early technical exploration, not as a formal decision to fork the network or begin an independent migration.
Whether Starknet actually moves to an independent mainnet would still need to pass engineering review and then be decided through a final proposal with onchain effect initiated by STRK holders.
Foundation says no new token will be issued
As discussion spread across the ecosystem, the Starknet Foundation made two commitments aimed at concerns over dilution and fragmented liquidity.
- First, STRK will remain the only native token and gas asset of the network whether Starknet stays as an Ethereum scaling layer or eventually becomes an independent chain. No new token will be issued.
- Second, the two-way asset bridge between Ethereum and Starknet will remain permanently open. Even if Starknet later develops into an independent mainnet, it will continue to support interoperability and asset flows with the Ethereum ecosystem.
A broader question about the endgame for Layer 2 networks
The report frames Starknet’s move as a fresh test of how far major rollups may go in pursuit of system sovereignty and long-term security. Ethereum has long been treated as the industry’s central settlement hub. As Layer 2 networks diverge on governance autonomy, protocol revenue distribution, and the pace of cryptographic change, the question of whether L2s remain dependent extensions or become sovereign public chains is back in focus.
If Starknet ultimately builds an independent L1 that combines STARK-based throughput with native post-quantum consensus, the article says it would no longer be bound by the slower upgrade cycle associated with Ethereum’s historical burden. With the draft technical white paper approaching in November, the proposal is likely to draw close attention from both the cryptography community and the Ethereum ecosystem.
