Anyone staking or delegating STRK can now vote on whether Starknet, StarkWare’s Layer 2 on top of Ethereum, should research breaking away to run as a standalone post-quantum blockchain.
The non-binding Snapshot poll opened at 09:32 UTC on Oct. 15 and closes at the same time on Oct. 22. Voters can pick “Yes, this should be researched,” vote against further research, or choose “Neutral, I need more information.” StarkWare called it the first governance vote on the potential transition.
The ballot is narrow by design. Backing the research “does not constitute approval of a transition to an L1,” the proposal reads, and “any future decision to proceed with a transition would be subject to a dedicated governance process.”
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Security Is the Stated Reason
Henri of the Starknet Foundation laid out the reasoning in a forum post attached to the poll. The components Starknet runs itself can be made quantum-resistant soon, he wrote, while its bridge and its data availability layer move on Ethereum’s schedule. Operating as its own Layer 1 would end that reliance.
The post noted that Starknet already uses hash-based STARK proofs and native account abstraction, and said no timeline for a switch has been set. Two things will not change under any outcome: “STRK is the token, with no new token,” and bridges from Ethereum into Starknet remain open.
A “Yes” result would kick off research that would produce more detailed proposals and further polls. A “No” means post-quantum work continues with Starknet as a Layer 2. A “Neutral” result keeps the forum thread open until the missing answers arrive.
Early Tally
By about 14:40 UTC on Oct. 15, 293 votes had been cast, and 99.9% of roughly 179.8 million in voting power backed “Yes,” according to Snapshot data. The poll has no quorum requirement.
“Becoming an L1 is a big deal. So is post-quantum security. We want to hear what the community thinks,” StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson wrote on X.
How It Got Here
Ben-Sasson first floated the idea on Oct. 8, alongside a talk at Token2049, asking whether an L1 “for post-quantum agility” was a good or bad idea. Starknet’s own account said that day it was considering the move with 2027 as its target for full quantum resistance. Two days later, StarkWare posted that “Starknet becoming an independent L1 is our clearest path forward.”
Results will be visible as soon as voting closes.
Related Listen: Why a Hidden Public Key Still Can’t Protect Your Bitcoin From Quantum Computing
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