Starknet has started researching whether to stop operating as an Ethereum layer 2 and run as its own blockchain, after a community poll backed the study. The network says it wants full post-quantum security by 2027, though the vote does not commit it to the switch.
The non-binding Snapshot poll closed on Thursday, Oct. 22, after running for seven days. The option “Yes, this should be researched” took 93.52% of the roughly 489 million STRK in voting power cast across 3,236 votes. About 4.6% of voting power chose “No,” and about 1.9% picked the neutral option asking for more information.
In a results post on its governance forum, the Starknet Foundation maintained that the vote “does not approve Starknet’s transition to an L1,” and that formal approval would be sought once research and design work is finished.
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What Happens Next
According to the Foundation, StarkWare and the Foundation will now run a joint working group and post its findings to the forum. If the work supports moving ahead, detailed proposals would then go back to the community for further votes. The Foundation asked node operators, app builders and STRK holders to reply with the questions they want the research to address.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson wrote on X that “any path to transition to an L1 will be brought to a community vote” and that STRK will stay the network’s token. He called the result “a huge shift and a milestone,” adding that “the AI and quantum challenges ahead require it.”
The poll discussion thread also said no new token would be issued and that bridges from Ethereum to Starknet would stay open whatever the outcome.
Why Starknet Is Looking at an L1
The Foundation said Starknet “has an architectural head start on post-quantum security,” pointing to proof systems built on hash functions and user accounts that can switch to new signature schemes without a protocol upgrade. In a separate post, Ben-Sasson wrote that ZK-STARKs “were designed with post-quantum security in mind” and that the team “will do the needed work to ensure all of Starknet is post-quantum secure.”
The constraint, according to Starknet, is its reliance on Ethereum. Its official account said on X it is “targeting full post-quantum security by 2027,” while Ethereum’s target is 2029, and that as an L2 it “cannot complete that transition while its bridge and data availability remain tied to Ethereum’s timeline.”
Starknet first set the 2027 goal on Oct. 8, when it said it was considering becoming an L1. Ben-Sasson raised the idea the same day in a post on X, writing that “chains need to become future-proofed. And fast.” Two days later, StarkWare said in its own post on X that “Starknet becoming an independent L1 is our clearest path forward.” StarkWare’s three-phase post-quantum roadmap from June 30 had left the bridge and blob data availability tied to Ethereum’s own upgrade, and did not mention an L1.
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