The Starknet Community Supports Research for Independent Post-Quantum L1

The Starknet community voted to support research aimed at creating an independent post-quantum L1 network. This decision received support from 93.52% of votes from nearly 3,200 participants; the voting took place over seven days and concluded on Thursday. The vote recorded the highest activity in Starknet governance history. StarkWare, which abstained from voting, left the decision to the community. Thus, StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation will be able to continue research in the field of independent L1. A real change requires approval by a separate binding vote. For now, Starknet will continue to function as a layer 2 on Ethereum. “We are starting work on the white paper even before the weekend and hope to release the draft for public discussion in November,” – said StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson.

StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation have created a working group to study the proposed transformation and develop more detailed technical proposals. The governance proposal states that the STRK token will remain the main token of the network, with no plans to create a new token, and the existing bridges between Starknet and Ethereum will remain open. StarkWare first raised the issue of a possible transition on October 8, pointing to the network's dependency on Ethereum for security. Although Starknet uses STARK-based hashing proofs and supports programmable accounts capable of adapting to post-quantum signatures, its bridge infrastructure and data availability still depend on Ethereum's update schedule.

In June, StarkWare presented a roadmap consisting of three stages to ensure quantum resilience, covering cryptographic updates, smart contract migration, and infrastructure dependent on Ethereum. Quantum Hub StarkWare reports that technology capable of withstanding future quantum attacks has already been tested, successfully processing a transaction on the Starknet network. However, this technology remains experimental and has not yet undergone a security audit. Ben-Sasson set a goal to ensure Starknet's quantum resilience by 2027 – earlier than Ethereum's projected timeline, which targets 2029. “Ethereum's goal of achieving quantum security by 2029 is too late, and timelines are slipping,” – he added.