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Starknet backs post-quantum L1 research with 93.5% of Snapshot votes

A seven-day Snapshot poll closed with 93.5% of voting power approving research into Starknet becoming an independent, post-quantum Layer 1. No transition is yet authorised.

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A Snapshot poll of STRK holders closed Thursday with 93.5% of voting power backing research into transitioning Starknet from an Ethereum Layer 2 into an independent, post-quantum Layer 1. Over 2,800 wallets participated, per StarkWare's numbers reported by The Block. The on-chain record sits at governance.starknet.io.

The seven-day vote opened October 15, 2026. StarkWare did not vote, leaving the decision to the community.

What the vote authorises

The proposal is narrow. It funds a research mandate; it does not approve a transition.

  • The research outputs a draft whitepaper, which StarkWare targets for November 2026.
  • Any actual move from Ethereum L2 to independent L1 requires a second, separate vote on the whitepaper's recommendations.
  • STRK remains the native token regardless of the path chosen, per the Starknet Foundation.
  • Ethereum ↔ Starknet bridges stay open regardless of outcome.
  • No transition date has been agreed. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has publicly targeted 2027 for Starknet to be quantum-safe.

Why "post-quantum" is driving the question

Ben-Sasson floated the L1 idea on X on October 8, 2026, framing it as a quantum-safety question rather than an L2-exit question. The mechanics:

  • Starknet's account layer can adopt post-quantum signature schemes (such as hash-based or lattice-based signatures) without any protocol change — accounts choose their signature verifier.
  • But Starknet's bridge and data availability still inherit from Ethereum. Mainnet Ethereum cannot be made quantum-safe on a Starknet timeline; it depends on EIPs that are not yet drafted at merge-ready specificity.
  • The L1 path would let Starknet sever that inheritance and ship end-to-end post-quantum security on its own schedule.

The counter-argument, in the research scope: whether a fully independent L1 is required at all, or whether a lighter architectural change (e.g., a post-quantum data-availability layer, or a validity-proof system with a quantum-safe commitment scheme) is enough.

By the numbers

  • Vote window: October 15 – October 22, 2026 (7 days).
  • For: 93.5% of STRK voting power.
  • Participation: >2,800 wallets.
  • StarkWare position: abstained from voting.
  • Deliverable: draft whitepaper, November 2026 target.
  • Public target for quantum safety: 2027.
  • Snapshot proposal ID: 0x31dffc8b6f24c580540cc967fdede3d8e9d513c105d3f699a14ae65bd0dc5d74.

What to watch

  1. The November whitepaper. The actual technical recommendation is where this proposal becomes falsifiable. Options on the table include: full L1 transition, hybrid DA-only move, or a post-quantum zk-STARK upgrade with Ethereum DA intact.
  2. Validator and sequencer economics. An independent L1 means Starknet runs its own consensus layer. Who stakes, what the slashing conditions are, and how MEV is captured are the questions a whitepaper this scope has to answer.
  3. Ethereum's own PQ timeline. If an EIP for post-quantum account abstraction ships in a Pectra-successor hard fork before 2027, part of Starknet's rationale collapses. ETH client teams have not committed to a timeline.

Context

Starknet is the first major Ethereum rollup to put an exit vote — even a research exit — on-chain. The pattern echoes BonkDAO's shadow-DAO fork debate and the governance churn around rollup economics in 2026. For the Ethereum roll-up ecosystem, the vote is a load-bearing data point: it formalises that quantum security is now a design axis sitting alongside decentralisation and cost.

What the vote does not do: commit any contract migration, token redistribution, or bridge closure. Those decisions remain for a future proposal.

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