Starknet’s native token STRK surged more than 33% on October 9, climbing from roughly $0.052 to $0.074 in hours after StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson confirmed the project is weighing a move to become an independent Layer 1 blockchain. The potential shift would mark a major strategic departure for Starknet, which has so far operated as a Layer 2 built on Ethereum.
According to Ben-Sasson, an independent Layer 1 would give Starknet more control over its upgrade schedule and remove the need to wait for Ethereum to adopt certain cryptographic changes. A key objective is full quantum resistance by 2027, ahead of Ethereum’s expected timeline. That long-term security roadmap is changing how traders value STRK, with resistance now seen around $0.075 to $0.08 and support at $0.065 and again near $0.058 to $0.06. The four-hour relative strength index was near 78, signaling overbought conditions, and analysts cautioned that a pullback or consolidation would be normal after such an aggressive move.
Separately, Strategy’s $1.45 billion preferred-share buyback program is raising questions about the liquidity of its variable-rate preferred stock STRC. Keyrock research found that Strategy’s repurchases accounted for more than 20% of weekly STRC trading volume during nearly every week of September, reaching about 28% in the week of September 8 before dipping just under 20% in early October.
Strategy had spent about $1.45 billion of its $2 billion repurchase authorization as of October 4, leaving $547.2 million available. The buybacks have helped STRC recover from the mid-$70s in June to about $99.50, close to its $100 reference price. STRC averages roughly $150 million in daily volume, and Keyrock estimates it can absorb about $28 million before the price moves 10 basis points. However, excluding Strategy’s own buying reduces estimated trading capacity to about 80% of reported volume.
Keyrock also found that STRC liquidity deteriorates sharply when the security trades away from its $100 reference price. On the worst 10% of trading days, depth falls from about $28 million to $6.5 million, and STRC can become up to eight times less liquid when priced more than 6% below par. Between September 28 and October 4, Strategy repurchased approximately $176.3 million of STRC while acquiring 334 Bitcoin for about $28.7 million. Of the preferred repurchases, $154.1 million came from cash reserves, compared with $13 million used for Bitcoin purchases.
If Strategy maintains that pace, the remaining authorization could last about three weeks, though the company can adjust the program. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on October 28 on amendments that would introduce daily dividends across Strategy’s US-listed preferred stocks; if approved, STRC would begin the new payment schedule on November 2. Strategy argues more frequent distributions could improve price stability and broaden institutional interest without increasing total regular dividend obligations.
Keyrock identified family offices, private-bank discretionary accounts and specialist credit funds as the most promising sources of larger allocations that could reduce STRC’s dependence on issuer buybacks. The next weekly repurchase disclosures and the October 28 shareholder vote will provide early evidence on whether STRC can sustain independent demand.
