Starknet's STRK token gained approximately 322% to 323% over the 30 days leading up to October 11-12, 2026, significantly outpacing both Bitcoin and Ether during the same period.
The rally was triggered by a proposal unveiled at the Token2049 conference: Starknet would transition from an Ethereum Layer 2 to an independent Layer 1 blockchain. CEO Eli Ben-Sasson framed the shift as necessary for control, arguing that independence would allow Starknet to set its own security upgrade timelines, particularly around post-quantum cryptography. As a Layer 2, the network's schedule is partly tied to Ethereum's decisions.
Price and Trading Activity
On October 9, STRK posted a single-day gain of around 40%, with intraday prices pushing above $0.12. Trading volumes climbed substantially, with 24-hour volumes frequently topping several hundred million dollars. STRK's market capitalization reached between $860 million and $888 million in recent snapshots.
The network's DeFi total value locked, or TVL, rose roughly 5% to 7% over a period slightly shorter than the price rally, reaching approximately $168 million. This divergence highlights that token price gains significantly outpaced growth in actual capital deployed on the network.
Context and Risks
Despite the surge, STRK remains more than 97% below its all-time high set in February 2024. The Layer 1 shift is currently only a proposal and requires technical work, governance approval, and community feedback before implementation. No confirmed launch timeline has been provided, and Starknet continues to settle transactions on Ethereum for now.
A broader question faces Ethereum's scaling ecosystem: if Starknet proceeds with independence, it would relinquish the security guarantees that made Layer 2s attractive and require persuading validators, developers, and capital that a standalone chain justifies the trade-off.
