Intro
On October 8th, the Starknet Foundation shared that Starknet is considering becoming an independent, post-quantum L1. A week later, a non-binding Snapshot poll opened on whether StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation should pursue research in this direction.
The poll closed today, with 93.52% of voting power in favor.
Thank you to everyone who voted and joined the discussion.
What the vote means
The poll gives StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation a clear mandate to begin research on the L1 path. Both organizations will now coordinate resources and commit time to researching the technical requirements, the trade-offs and the implications for users, builders and the wider ecosystem.
This process will start now and updates will be shared progressively with the community in this forum.
Note: this governance poll does not approve Starknet’s transition to an L1. Formal approval will be sought once the research and design phase concludes.
The case for exploring a Starknet L1
Starknet has an architectural head start on post-quantum security. Its STARK proofs rely on hash functions, and its programmable accounts can adopt new signature schemes without a protocol upgrade. In StarkWare’s NIST-informed assessment of cryptographic agility, Starknet is the only network assessed with evidence across all eight measures.
The limit is what Starknet inherits from Ethereum, including its bridge and data availability. Ethereum is targeting December 2029 for a quantum-resistant L1, with wider migration extending beyond that. As an L2, Starknet’s path to full post-quantum security remains tied to Ethereum’s timeline.
What happens next
The research starts now, led by a joint working group from StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation.
The research group will publish its findings to this governance forum. Those findings will be the starting points for next steps. If the research supports moving forward, detailed proposals will follow and go to the community for further votes.
We want your input
We want this thread to help shape the research, so please reply with your questions and concerns. Different parts of the community will have different priorities, and we want to hear from all of them. If you’re an infra operator or node runner, tell us what you would need to plan for. If you’re a builder, tell us what this would change for your app. If you’re a STRK holder or delegator, tell us which questions you want the research paper to answer first.
The working group will use these replies to set priorities and will answer them as findings come in.
— Starknet Foundation