Starknet is "actively considering" becoming an independent layer-1 blockchain, with 2027 as its target for becoming the first fully quantum-resistant network. The proposal sent the STRK token higher, with the token trading near $0.073 on Friday, up about 20% over 24 hours and more than double its roughly $0.03 price in April.

Starknet, the Ethereum scaling network built by StarkWare and one of the most prominent zero-knowledge rollups, said it is weighing a transition from a layer-2 network to its own blockchain.

"We are actively considering becoming an L1," the project wrote on X. "This would enable Starknet to become the first fully quantum-resistant network, with 2027 as our target."

An L1, or layer 1, is a base blockchain such as Bitcoin or Ethereum that validates and secures its own transactions. Starknet currently operates as a layer 2, meaning it is built on Ethereum, bundles transactions into batches and relies on the base chain for security.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said becoming an L1 would give Starknet control over its own security upgrades rather than requiring it to wait for Ethereum. Ethereum's roadmap targets core post-quantum infrastructure around 2029.

Starknet's proposal centers on the potential threat posed by quantum computers, which could one day break the elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. The technology underpins the digital signatures that prove ownership of cryptocurrency. Standards bodies are already acting on the risk: the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first post-quantum encryption standards in 2024, and U.S. federal agencies have been directed to begin migrating to quantum-resistant cryptography. Starknet's own proofs rely on hash functions, which scramble data into fixed-length fingerprints and are considered quantum-resistant. However, the network has said that some elliptic-curve components remain and would be replaced under a roadmap published June 30.

Ben-Sasson raised the idea in an X thread, writing that the quantum threat "may be much closer than we think." He also identified the pace of advances in artificial intelligence and mathematics as a second risk, saying it called for "bunker mode"—a phrase recently popularized by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake in his own call to action earlier this week.

Starknet becoming an L1 for post-quantum agility: good idea or bad idea? Two giant elements we need to pay attention to: (1) The quantum threat. It may be MUCH closer than we think. (2) AI. It's becoming more powerful than we can process. Is anyone willing to bet how much time…

— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson), October 8, 2026

Ben-Sasson wrote that, as an L2, Starknet relies on Ethereum's security and therefore can only be as quantum-safe as its base layer. He said Ethereum needs to move "real fast" and that becoming an L1 is one of the options if it does not.

According to ethereum.org, Ethereum's roadmap targets core post-quantum infrastructure by around 2029. The Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team in January, and Drake said at the time that "timelines are accelerating." Bitcoin has made no similar commitment, according to Ben-Sasson.

Becoming an L1 would allow Starknet to control its own security upgrades instead of waiting for Ethereum or Bitcoin to move first, Ben-Sasson wrote. It would also mean Starknet would secure itself rather than borrow Ethereum's protection, which is the arrangement that defines a layer 2. The project's statement did not explain how existing applications and users would move to the new arrangement, and it remains unclear whether the idea will advance beyond the consideration stage.

The change would also make Starknet responsible for its own security and development. That could present a challenge given Ethereum's position as the second-largest and most active project in the crypto ecosystem after Bitcoin. A completed transition would also set Starknet apart in the Ethereum scaling field, where layer-2 projects are built to inherit the base chain's protection rather than supply their own.

No quantum computer can break these systems today, and experts disagree about when one might be capable of doing so. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor told Bloomberg last year that he was not concerned, arguing that banks and technology companies would be affected first.

Ben-Sasson said Starknet could achieve quantum resistance by 2027, two years before the end-of-2029 date he cited for Ethereum.