Starknet’s community has taken a major step toward redefining the network’s long-term architecture. According to an initial seven-day Snapshot poll that closed Thursday morning, more than 93.5% of voting power supported researching a transition from an Ethereum Layer 2 network into an independent, post-quantum Layer 1. Over 2,800 wallets participated in the vote, and development company StarkWare did not cast a ballot, leaving the decision fully in community hands.
The proposal centers on quantum security and Ethereum dependencies. Starknet is built on hash-based cryptography, and its accounts can adopt post-quantum signatures without protocol-level changes. However, because Starknet currently inherits security from Ethereum and relies on Ethereum for its bridge and data availability, those components cannot become quantum-safe independently of Ethereum. The team has argued that Ethereum’s target of 2029 to become quantum-safe is too late, with StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson setting a 2027 target for Starknet to become quantum-safe.
Ben-Sasson said StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation will now further research the potential transition, with a draft whitepaper expected for public scrutiny in November. “Starknet’s community has chosen to lead on the biggest security challenge crypto has ever faced. AI agents are accelerating the quantum threat in ways many don’t realise. The race is on,” he said. Still, no final decision has been made: STRK holders would need to vote again on any future proposal to actually move the network.
The vote follows the launch of the Falcon Challenge, which invites developers to lower gas costs associated with quantum-safe signatures. Current costs stand at 48.4 million gas, well above the record of approximately 26 million. The initiative is intended to encourage community engagement and innovation in blockchain security.
Regardless of the path chosen, the Starknet Foundation said STRK will remain the native token, no new token will be introduced, and Ethereum bridges to Starknet will remain open. StarkWare previously set out a three-phase post-quantum roadmap in June.
