About

Starknet is a Layer 2 scaling network for Ethereum that uses zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions efficiently. It features native account abstraction, supports L1–L2 communication, and uses the STRK token for fees and staking to secure its decentralized block production and verification process.

History

Starknet was first developed by StarkWare Industries Ltd. in 2018, which was co-founded by Michael Riabzev, Uri Kolodny, Alessandro Chiesa, and Eli Ben-Sasson. As of February 2024, Ben-Sasson is the only Co-Founder still actively involved with the project, as Riabzev and Chiesa have stepped away for various reasons. Kolodny held the CEO role until January 2024, when he voluntarily stepped down to focus on a family health issue, passing the role onto Ben-Sasson.

The first product released (June 2020) was the application development engine, StarkEx. The alpha version of Starknet’s mainnet launched on Oct. 4, 2021. This was shortly followed by the launch of the full version of the mainnet on Nov. 16, 2021. Network development continued with the release of the StarkGate Ethereum Bridge in April 2022 and the deployment of the ERC-20 STRK token on Nov. 16, 2022. The token was later bridged to Starknet via the StarkGate protocol on Nov. 12, 2023, and first became publicly available with the Provision Airdrop performed on Feb. 22, 2024.

As of the same date, tokenholders can use the asset to (i) settle transaction fees on Starknet and (ii) vote in the network’s governance process. In the future, the project team intends to create staking mechanisms for community members to secure the network and operate nodes with STRK. The project team states that “these protocol changes are still under discussion within the larger governance community and are targeted for 2024-2025.”

Phase One of the network’s governance process was released on Dec. 14, 2022. Approximately one year later, on Oct. 24, 2023, the project team released a Decentralization Roadmap detailing the governance process’s progression. The process is intended to transition maintenance of the Starknet Sequencer’s operation to node operators while also implementing a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol that enables users to operate nodes and STRK tokens to secure the network and receive voting power. A commercially reasonable search did not reveal specific dates or the number of phases that are intended to be included in this transition process.