Starknet eyes L1 glow-up, STRK pumps 20% on quantum-resistant ambitions 🚀

Starknet, the Ethereum layer-2 network developed by StarkWare, confirmed it is weighing a transition into a standalone layer-1 blockchain, with a target of 2027. "We are actively considering becoming an L1," the project wrote on X. "This would enable Starknet to become the first fully quantum-resistant network, with 2027 as our target." The STRK token traded around $0.073 on Friday, up roughly 20% over 24 hours, more than double the approximately $0.03 price recorded in April, when StarkWare reduced staff in a cost-cutting push.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson laid out the reasoning in an X thread on October 8, 2026, writing that the quantum threat "may be much closer than we think" and that advances in artificial intelligence add a second risk that calls for what he called "bunker mode," a phrase Ethereum researcher Justin Drake used earlier the same week in a separate call to action. Starknet's existing proof system relies on hash functions, which scramble data into fixed-length fingerprints and are considered quantum-resistant, though some elliptic-curve cryptography components remain. A roadmap published June 30 commits to replacing those components. Ben-Sasson argued that as an L2, Starknet can only be as quantum-safe as its base layer, Ethereum, meaning the network needs Ethereum to move "real fast," and becoming an L1 is among the options if it does not.

An L1, or layer-1, is a base blockchain such as Bitcoin or Ethereum that validates and secures its own transactions. A layer-2 network sits on top of a base chain, batches transactions and inherits security from the underlying chain. The statement from Starknet did not detail how existing applications and users would migrate. Becoming an L1 would shift Starknet from relying on Ethereum's security to securing itself and give it independent control over upgrades.

Ethereum's own roadmap targets core post-quantum infrastructure by around 2029, according to ethereum.org, after the Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team in January. Drake said at that time that "timelines are accelerating." Bitcoin has made no comparable commitment, according to Ben-Sasson. STRK's 20% gain brought it to a level more than two times its April low, though it remains well below prior highs.