Starknet is "actively considering" a shift from Ethereum layer 2 to independent layer-1 status, targeting 2027 to become the first fully quantum-resistant blockchain, the network's team posted on X on Thursday.

The disclosure pushed STRK, Starknet's native token, up roughly 20% in 24 hours to about $0.073 on Friday. That is more than double the approximately $0.03 the token fetched in April, when StarkWare cut staff to refocus on revenue.

StarkWare, the Israeli cryptography firm behind Starknet, has led the network since its deployment. CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, a co-founder of both StarkWare and Starknet, framed the proposal in a thread on X dated October 8.

What would the transition actually change?

A layer-1 blockchain validates and finalizes its own transactions, the model used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. Layer-2 systems like Starknet bundle transactions and post compressed data to a base chain, inheriting its security.

The shift would give Starknet direct control over its security and upgrade path. It would also remove the dependency on Ethereum's validator set, which currently backs Starknet's state transitions.

Starknet published a roadmap on June 30 committing to replace remaining elliptic-curve cryptography — the math behind the digital signatures used by Bitcoin and Ethereum — with hash-based alternatives. The network's existing validity proofs already rely on hash functions, which scramble data into fixed fingerprints and are considered quantum-resistant.

Why the urgency on quantum risk?

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

Ben-Sasson framed the urgency on X, writing that the quantum threat "may be much closer than we think" and that AI's accelerating progress in mathematics adds a second reason to enter "bunker mode" — a phrase Ethereum researcher Justin Drake popularized this week in his own call to harden post-quantum infrastructure.

As an L2, Starknet can only be as quantum-safe as Ethereum, Ben-Sasson argued, and Ethereum needs to move "real fast." Independence is among the options if it does not, he said.

How does Starknet's timeline compare?

Starknet's 2027 target runs roughly two years ahead of Ethereum, whose official roadmap targets core post-quantum infrastructure by 2029. The Ethereum Foundation created a dedicated post-quantum team in January, and Drake said at the time that "timelines are accelerating."

Bitcoin, the largest network by market capitalization, has made no comparable commitment, according to Ben-Sasson. That gap, he suggested, leaves Starknet with little choice but to consider independence if it wants to lead rather than follow.

What are the operational costs?

Going standalone means Starknet would secure its own network instead of borrowing Ethereum's protection. It would also need to fund ongoing research, validator operations and protocol upgrades — tasks currently absorbed by Ethereum's base layer.

The X announcement did not address how existing applications, liquidity pools or user balances would migrate to a new chain. StarkWare has not published a governance proposal or migration timeline.

No quantum computer can break elliptic-curve cryptography today, and cryptographers disagree on when one might. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor told Bloomberg last year that he does not worry about the risk, arguing that banks and tech giants would face the same threat first.

The next milestone to watch is whether StarkWare files a formal governance proposal, since any change to the chain's settlement layer would require approval from STRK holders and Ethereum's broader rollup community.