Overview
- Starknet disclosed Thursday that it is actively considering a move from an Ethereum Layer 2 to a standalone Layer 1 so it can control its own security upgrades.
- StarkWare CEO Eli Ben‑Sasson has said the team is targeting 2027 to reach quantum resistance, citing rapid mathematical advances from powerful AI as a reason to compress the timetable.
- Key technical choices remain unresolved because Ethereum developers disagree on migration methods, with Vitalik Buterin warning that lattice‑based schemes may be vulnerable to stronger AI and urging caution about proposed 'bunker mode' wallet migrations.
- Markets reacted strongly to the proposal, with TradingView and other price feeds showing STRK jumping in the wake of the announcement by roughly 20 to 50 percent over recent days.
- Starknet already uses ZK‑STARK proofs but currently depends on Ethereum for base‑layer security, so an L1 conversion would require mass key migrations for users and dApps, create engineering and custody burdens, and sharpen political tensions within the Ethereum ecosystem.