The price of Starknet , which is the second-tier network for Ethereum , jumped 20 percent after announcing that it wanted to be a tier one network.

Starknet , an extension of the Ethereum network developed by StarkWare, stated via X that it was seriously considering becoming a standalone BlockchainLayer1 with the goal of2027 being the first full-fledged anti-quantum network. While the STRK token traded close to0.073 US dollars on Friday after rising roughly20% in 24 hours and more than doubling its estimated value0.03 US dollars in April, which is when StarkWere had previously laid off employees for revenue tracking.ethereum.org

For security reasons and post-quantum timelines, I'm not sure what to do.

Eli Ben-Sasson, chief executive officer of StarkWare stated that being a Layer1 would allow Starknet to control security upgrades on its own instead of having to wait for the Ethereum which according to the development planethereum.org is targeted at post-quantum infrastructure by about one year.2029

Starknet is a layer 2 on top of the Ethereum that includes businesses as suites and relies on the base layers for security. Technically, Layer 1 is an underlying blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum which monitors and protects its own business.

Quantum risk and AI

Starknet states that a quantum computer may one day be able to crack the elliptic curve encryption, which is the mathematics behind digital signatures used to prove ownership of coins for Bitcoin and Ethereum .

The network noted that the proof of Starknet uses a hash function which converts data into static fingerprints and considers it quantum neutral, but still retains some of the circular-curve encryption identified in its development plan released on June 30 as replacing

Ben-Sasson posted in X on October 8 2026 that the quantum threat may be closer than thought, and AI mathematically powerful enough to pose a secondary risk of entering safe haven mode, a phrase Ethereum researcher Justin Drake just popularized in his call for action earlier this week.

Ethereum has to move fast, or Starknet has to stand on its own two feet.

Ben-Sasson writes that as layer 2, Starknet relies on the security of Ethereum so quantum resistance is only equal to the base layer. He argues that the network must wait for Ethereum to move very quickly, and if not then being a Layer 1 is one option.

The Ethereum Foundation set up a special team behind Quantum in January before Justin Drake said the time frame was accelerating.

Being a Layer 1 allows Starknet not to wait for Ethereum or Bitcoin to move first, but instead take responsibility for its own security and development, which can be an obstacle because Ethereum is the second-largest and most complex project in the crypto ecosystem after Bitcoin .

The text does not specify how existing applications and users will be migrated.

Ben-Sasson states that Starknet may achieve quantum repulsion capability in the year,ethereum.org which is faster than the end of the year schedule.2029 His claim for Ethereum was 2 years.

Another view of the quantum threat.

No quantum computer has yet cracked these systems, and experts disagree on when that will happen. Michael Saylor, the co-founder of Strategy, told Bloomberg last year he wasn't worried, reasoning that banks and big tech companies might be affected first.

For the reader, what remains to be seen is how Starknet will perform on its yearly target.2027 How applications and users will move forward; how security mechanisms will change; and how this plan will factor into STRK in the long run.