Starknet tokenholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of further research into converting the project from an Ethereum layer-2 network into an independent, quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain. The seven-day governance poll closed on October 22 with 93.52% of voting power backing the proposal, according to official governance data. Approximately 3,200 votes were recorded in what StarkWare described as the highest participation in the network’s governance history.
The ballot was explicitly non-binding and did not authorize any departure from Ethereum. It instead allowed StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation to establish a working group and prepare technical proposals for future consideration. The community could choose to support further research, oppose it, or remain neutral pending additional information. StarkWare itself abstained from voting, leaving STRK holders and participating delegates to determine the outcome. The result represented the first formal community response to StarkWare’s October 8 proposal.
The proposed research stems from quantum-security concerns. Although Starknet already uses hash-based STARK proofs, some components still rely on Ethereum-maintained cryptographic systems. StarkWare has pointed to Ethereum’s bridge messaging infrastructure and blob-based data availability as remaining dependencies. Those components use KZG commitments and elliptic-curve cryptography, which StarkWare considers vulnerable to sufficiently powerful future quantum computers.
An independent network could give Starknet greater control over security upgrades, but it would also require its own validators, consensus mechanism, data availability model, and economic security through staked STRK. StarkWare has not yet published a complete replacement security model. A draft whitepaper is planned for November, with community discussion already raising questions about validator responsibilities and censorship resistance.
Under either arrangement, STRK would remain the native token, and no replacement token is planned. Existing Ethereum bridges are expected to remain open, although detailed procedures for maintaining those connections under a standalone architecture have not been published. StarkWare has set a 2027 target for making Starknet quantum-resistant, with work divided into three phases covering new activity, legacy smart contracts, and Ethereum-dependent infrastructure.
At press time, STRK traded near $0.055, down 1.24% over 24 hours and 32.46% over seven days. Daily trading volume stood at approximately $162.5 million, with a reported circulating supply near 7.6 billion tokens and a market capitalization of about $414.3 million.
