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Starknet, the scaling network originally built as a technical add-on for Ethereum, has put a question to its community: should it cut ties with the chain it was designed to serve and operate as an independent Layer 1? According to U.today, the token reacted sharply, gaining 25% at one point on the day the vote opened.
The proposal comes from StarkWare, the team behind the project, and the poll runs on the Snapshot platform. STRK, the network’s native token, had already climbed 200% in the first weeks of October before pulling back with the wider market, U.today reported.
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Key facts
- STRK gained 25% at one point on October 15, the day the vote began, after rallying 200% earlier in the month.
- Daily futures volume reached $894.84 million, almost eight times the $116.38 million in spot trading.
- The Snapshot poll runs until October 22 and currently shows 99.88% of votes cast for the proposal.
- A scheduled unlock of 127 million tokens for early investors lands on the same day as the vote.
- STRK’s market capitalisation stands at $580.24 million, well below Ethereum’s.
The quantum clock behind the split
The case for leaving rests on timing. Starknet says it is technically ready to deploy quantum resistance as early as 2027, while Ethereum is not scheduled to upgrade its own security until the end of 2029. Sitting inside Ethereum’s roadmap would mean waiting roughly two years longer than the project believes it needs, U.today reported.
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Eli Ben-Sasson, who leads the project, has argued that advances in AI have moved the arrival of machines capable of breaking modern encryption closer. That view can be read only as U.today describes it; the report does not set out a full technical rationale beyond the timing gap.
The proposed separation is not a clean break. Under the plan as reported, STRK would remain the network’s only settlement asset and the bridges connecting Starknet to Ethereum would keep running, so tokenomics would not change. The price of independence is security: Starknet transactions are currently shielded by Ethereum’s authority and the capital behind its staked validators, and a standalone chain would have to build its own protection resting on the value of STRK alone.
Why it matters
Starknet’s governance proposal tests whether a Layer 2 can buy itself two extra years of security runway by giving up the settlement guarantees of its parent chain. For STRK holders, the trade-off is direct: the token would carry more of the network’s security burden while retaining its role as the only settlement asset. Trading activity has already migrated to derivatives, with futures volume far outstripping spot on a day that also delivers new supply through the token unlock, a combination that tends to amplify price swings.
What to watch
The Snapshot poll stays open until October 22. Even if it passes, the result is preliminary and only clears the way for research, while the technical transition itself would need months of preparation and fresh votes before anything changes on-chain.
The figures above describe market moves that have already happened and are not a recommendation. This is not financial advice, and crypto markets are volatile and uncertain.
Source: U.Today
