Starknet Considers Transition to L1 Due to Quantum Threat

The Starknet team is considering turning the network from a second-tier solution for Ethereum into an independent L1 blockchain. This was stated by Elie Ben-Sasson, CEO of the StarkWare developer company. He discussed whether Starknet should become L1 for the sake of "post–quantum flexibility" - this is the way to create the first fully quantum-stable network with a target date in 2027.

By flexibility, Ben-Sasson means the network's ability to seamlessly update cryptography as new threats arise. The head of StarkWare named two such threats. The first is related to quantum computing: the expert referred to the ECDSA study.Fail, which was attended by employees of his company, among others. As part of an open competition, humans, along with AI agents, reduced the estimate of the resources needed by a quantum computer to crack signatures on elliptic curves by 86%. AI can greatly accelerate the emergence of super-powerful quantum computers than most expect, Ben-Sasson believes. He saw the second threat in artificial intelligence itself, which "is becoming more powerful than we have time to comprehend."

"Is anyone willing to bet how much time we have left before AI hacks what we thought was secure?" wrote the CEO of StarkWare.

The head of StarkWare identified three conditions for preparing the blockchain for the quantum future: proper cryptography, cryptographic flexibility and L1 status. According to him, Starknet has almost all of this, except for the status of the first level. The L2 solution depends on the security of Ethereum and will not be able to fully protect itself from quantum threats and risks from AI until the mainnet does this.

"What happens if this doesn't happen? We are considering several options, including switching to L1," he explained. The transition would give Starknet full control over updates: according to Ben-Sasson, then the network will be able to achieve full quantum stability by 2027. The Ethereum Foundation is planning for the end of 2029. In June, StarkWare presented a three-step roadmap for the transition to post-quantum cryptography.