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Starknet voters want out. Not yet — but they want to study it hard. A seven-day governance poll closed Thursday with 93.52% of voting power backing research into an independent, quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain, the strongest signal the community has sent in the network’s history.
Why It Matters
The vote is significant because it marks a rare, high-turnout governance signal that could reshape expectations around Starknet’s long-term architecture and governance independence. For markets, even a research mandate into an independent, quantum-resistant layer-1 can matter because it opens the door to strategic uncertainty, while also showing the community is willing to explore a more differentiated technical path rather than simply staying tied to Ethereum by default.
About 3,200 votes were cast in total. That’s the highest participation Starknet governance has ever recorded. StarkWare, the company behind the network, abstained entirely, stepping back and letting token holders decide. The result gives StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation a clear mandate to dig into what a move away from Ethereum would actually look like — but it doesn’t approve that move. Not even close. A separate, binding governance vote would still be needed before anything actually changes. For now, Starknet stays exactly where it is: an Ethereum layer-2.
That distinction matters a lot.
What the Vote Actually Authorized
The poll was non-binding. Full stop. What it authorized is research — the development of technical proposals, the formation of a working group, and the drafting of a whitepaper. StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation will run that working group together. The group’s job is to build out more detailed technical proposals for what an independent chain could look like.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said the company had already started work on the whitepaper before the weekend. He’s hoping to publish a draft in November for public scrutiny. So the timeline is moving, but it’s still early — the document will lay out a more detailed path, not a finalized plan.
A few things are already locked in under the proposal, regardless of where the research leads. STRK stays as Starknet’s native token. No new token is planned. And existing bridges between Starknet and Ethereum would remain open. That’s probably worth noting for anyone worried about fragmentation — the proposal isn’t trying to sever ties overnight.
Starknet keeps running as an Ethereum layer-2 while all this plays out. The research stage hasn’t concluded. The binding vote hasn’t happened. The network’s future architecture is still an open question.
The Quantum Argument Behind the Push
StarkWare first floated the idea of an independent layer-1 on Oct. 8. The core concern: Starknet’s dependence on Ethereum for security. The network already uses hash-based STARK proofs and supports programmable accounts that can adopt post-quantum signatures — features that give it a head start on quantum resistance. But those features don’t cut every Ethereum tie.
Starknet’s bridge and data availability infrastructure are still tied to Ethereum’s upgrade timeline. The research will look hard at those dependencies and figure out what a transition would actually require.
StarkWare unveiled a three-phase quantum-resistance roadmap back in June. It covers cryptographic upgrades, smart-contract migration, and the infrastructure that still leans on Ethereum. The proposed independent-chain research basically extends that earlier work, pushing into territory the June roadmap didn’t fully resolve.
StarkWare’s Quantum Hub says it has tested technology designed to withstand quantum attacks and has processed a transaction on Starknet’s live network using it. But the technology is still experimental. It hasn’t gone through a security audit. So a live transaction happened — that’s real — but the underlying system is unaudited. Can’t overstate how much that caveat matters when the whole pitch is security.
Ben-Sasson has set 2027 as his target for making Starknet quantum-resistant. He thinks Ethereum’s projected 2029 timeline is too late. And he’s argued that deadlines slip. Those dates are about quantum-resistance targets specifically — not about any approved transition to a layer-1. The distinction is easy to blur, so it’s worth keeping straight.
The next real step is the research itself: the working group, the November whitepaper draft, and whatever technical proposals come out of that process. Any actual departure from Ethereum would still need a separate binding vote from the community.
Roughly 3,200 Starknet voters said: go find out if this is possible. What Ben-Sasson’s team brings back in November will tell us whether “possible” and “worth it” point in the same direction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Starknet’s governance vote actually approve?
The non-binding poll, which closed Thursday with 93.52% support, authorized research into an independent layer-1 blockchain — not the transition itself. A separate binding vote would be required before any actual change to Starknet’s status.
When will StarkWare publish its whitepaper on the proposed layer-1?
CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said StarkWare started work on the draft before the weekend and hopes to release it for public scrutiny in November.
Will STRK token holders face a new token if Starknet leaves Ethereum?
No new token is planned under the proposal. STRK would remain Starknet’s native token, and existing bridges to Ethereum would stay open.
