Starknet, the Ethereum scaling network built by StarkWare, said it is weighing a move to become its own blockchain rather than remain a layer-2 network on Ethereum.
In a post on X, the project said: "We are actively considering becoming an L1. This would enable Starknet to become the first fully quantum-resistant network, with 2027 as our target."
The market reacted quickly. STRK traded around $0.073 on Friday, up about 20% over the past 24 hours. That price is also more than double the roughly $0.03 level it fetched in April, when StarkWare cut staff to pursue revenue.
A layer 1 is a base blockchain such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, responsible for validating and securing its own transactions. Starknet today operates as a layer 2, meaning it sits on top of Ethereum, batches transactions, and relies on the base chain for security.
Post-quantum security is at the center of the proposal
Starknet’s case for a possible L1 transition is built around the long-term threat posed by quantum computers. The project said those machines could one day break the elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. That cryptography underpins the digital signatures that prove ownership of coins.
Starknet said its own proof system relies on hash functions, which turn data into fixed fingerprints and are generally viewed as quantum-resistant. At the same time, it acknowledged that some elliptic-curve components still remain. According to the project, those parts would be replaced under a roadmap published on June 30.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson expanded on the idea in a thread on X. He wrote that the quantum threat "may be much closer than we think" and said the pace of AI progress in mathematics creates a second risk, one that calls for "bunker mode." That phrase was also used earlier this week by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake in his own call to action.
Ben-Sasson said two large issues deserve attention: the quantum threat, and AI becoming more powerful at a pace people may struggle to process.
Why Starknet says staying on Ethereum may limit its timeline
Ben-Sasson wrote that Starknet’s status as an L2 ties it to Ethereum’s security model. In practice, that means Starknet can only be as quantum-safe as the base layer it depends on. He said the network needs Ethereum to move "real fast," and that becoming an L1 is one of the options if that does not happen.
Ethereum’s own roadmap targets core post-quantum infrastructure by around 2029, according to ethereum.org. The Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team in January, and Justin Drake said at the time that "timelines are accelerating." Ben-Sasson added that Bitcoin has made no comparable commitment.
If Starknet becomes an L1, it would gain direct control over its own security upgrades instead of waiting for Ethereum or Bitcoin to move first. It would also stop borrowing Ethereum’s protection and begin securing itself, which is the defining distinction between a layer 2 and a layer 1.
Open questions remain around migration and execution
Starknet’s statement did not say how existing applications and users would move over if the network changes its architecture.
The shift would also leave Starknet fully responsible for its own safety and development. That could prove difficult, given that Ethereum remains the second-largest and one of the most active projects in the crypto ecosystem after Bitcoin.
No quantum computer can break these systems today, and experts do not agree on when that might change. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor told Bloomberg last year that he is not worried about the issue, arguing that banks and large technology companies would be hit first.
Ben-Sasson said Starknet could reach quantum resistance by 2027, two years ahead of the end-of-2029 timeline he cited for Ethereum.