Has Starknet Approved an Ethereum Exit After 93.52% Support?

Starknet's non-binding poll closed with 93.52% support for research into a standalone quantum-resistant layer-1. No migration was authorized, STRK remains the native token and a draft whitepaper is planned for November.

CryptoMEV Bot NewsroomOct 22, 20264 min read

Rows of computer server racks in a data center illuminated by bright blue lights. — Image: rawpixel / rawpixel via Openverse (CC0)

93.52% of voting power in Starknet’s seven-day governance poll supported research into an independent quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain, but the non-binding vote did not authorize leaving Ethereum, according to crypto.news.

The poll closed on October 22 after approximately 3,200 votes, and StarkWare said participation was the highest in the network’s governance history (NewsCord). Support now permits StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation to prepare technical proposals, while STRK remains the native token, no replacement token is planned and existing Ethereum bridges are expected to remain open. StarkWare abstained from voting, leaving STRK holders and participating delegates to decide whether research should proceed.

What changes

The poll changes the authorization for technical work, not Starknet’s live network arrangement.

Before	After
Further research had not received a governance result	93.52% of voting power supported further research
Technical options remained under review	A working group was formed and a draft whitepaper was planned for November
An Ethereum exit was only a proposal	Migration remains unauthorized and requires another governance process

Readers should check the forthcoming draft for:

The proposed consensus, validator, data-availability and censorship-resistance model.
How Ethereum-connected bridges would operate under a standalone architecture.
Whether a later proposal covers asset transfers, a migration timetable or changes to STRK.

Security questions

Starknet continues to operate as an Ethereum layer-2 network, processing transactions through its own infrastructure while relying on Ethereum for settlement and data availability. Its STARK proofs are hash-based, but StarkWare’s roadmap identifies Ethereum’s bridge messaging and blob-based data availability as remaining dependencies.

Ethereum uses KZG commitments for blob data, while some bridge-related functions rely on elliptic-curve cryptography. StarkWare considers those systems vulnerable to sufficiently powerful future quantum computers, which motivated the proposal to explore a network structure that StarkWare can control more directly.

An independent Starknet would need to determine how validators secure consensus, how data availability would be maintained, how censorship resistance would work and how staked STRK would contribute to economic security. No complete replacement security model has been published.

The Defiant reported an interim governance picture on October 15: 422 wallets holding 272 million STRK had voted, with 99.9% backing research. That represented 3.7% of circulating STRK, and the interim poll had no quorum. The lower support rate reflected the partial turnout, while the final poll recorded 93.52% after approximately 3,200 votes.

Trading impact

CryptoSlate reported that a CoinGlass snapshot at 20:28 UTC on October 11 put STRK at $0.1190, up 17.7% over 24 hours and 116.7% over seven days. The same snapshot showed approximately $258.5 million in futures open interest, $3.5 billion in 24-hour futures volume and $14.8 million in futures liquidations over 24 hours.

The move followed Starknet’s October 8 discussion of an independent layer-1 and came before an October 15 unlock allowing up to 127 million STRK for early contributors and investors through March 2027. At the October 11 price, that maximum tranche was worth about $15.1 million and represented 1.27% of Starknet’s original 10 billion-token supply. The unlock made previously restricted tokens transferable but did not establish how many recipients would sell.

For Ethereum arbitrage execution, the operative settlement and data-availability path still runs through Ethereum. The documented pre-unlock market activity also created event-driven conditions relevant to fast-trade scalping methods, with $3.5 billion in 24-hour futures volume and $14.8 million in liquidations.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, as reported by KuCoin, framed the urgency this way:

"Quantum protection for cryptocurrencies is urgent, so we must move at lightning speed." — Eli Ben-Sasson, StarkWare CEO

The governance vote itself did not change Starknet’s execution environment, release funds or instruct users to transfer assets.

Governance path

StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation have established a working group to evaluate the technical and operational requirements of an independent blockchain. A draft whitepaper planned for November is expected to lay out possible architectures before any binding decision.

No final architecture, binding migration timetable or asset-transfer instruction has been issued (Cryptopolitan). Any migration would require another governance process, while the earlier design options were expected to be put to a vote after a report from Eli Ben-Sasson.

The binding milestone remains another governance vote; 93.52% is support for research, not approval of the exit.