Starknet’s STRK falls 38% in a week as Layer 1 rally reverses

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The token slid from its October 11 high after a 127 million STRK unlock, while holders vote on researching a post-quantum independent chain

Mon 19 Oct 2026 · 13:24 EDT · 2 min read

In Altcoins

Starknet’s STRK token has fallen about 38% over the past seven days, sharply underperforming Bitcoin and Ether as a rally driven by talk of an independent Layer 1 unwinds, The Defiant reported on October 19.

The decline comes as a community vote on whether Starknet should research leaving Ethereum to become a post-quantum Layer 1 remains open until October 22. STRK still holds a positive 28-day return despite the pullback.

Starknet’s DeFi total value locked fell 5.3% over the same period, a smaller drop than the token’s.

Rally peaked after Layer 1 announcement

STRK hit an intraday high of $0.1265 on October 11, its highest level since early December, according to AltcoinBuzz. The move followed StarkWare’s October 8 statement that it was actively considering turning Starknet into an independent network. Even at its peak, the token traded more than 97% below its February 2024 all-time high of $4.41.

Supply pressure arrived during the correction. A scheduled unlock released 127 million STRK to early contributors and investors on October 15, worth about $11 million at the time, according to Tokenomist data. Unlocks of up to 127 million STRK per month continue through March 2027.

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Non-binding vote on a post-quantum future

The seven-day Snapshot poll, which opened on October 15, asks STRK stakers and delegators whether Starknet should explore becoming an independent Layer 1 focused on post-quantum security, The Crypto Times reported. The vote is non-binding. A “Yes” result would trigger a research effort and more detailed proposals, while “No” would keep post-quantum work on the current Ethereum Layer 2 path.

“Starknet becoming an independent L1 is our clearest path forward,” StarkWare said. The company argues that Starknet’s hash-based STARK proofs and native account abstraction position it for quantum resistance, but that its reliance on Ethereum for bridging and data availability ties it to Ethereum’s timeline, which targets full Layer 1 quantum resistance by the end of 2029.

StarkWare has said Starknet could reach full quantum resistance by 2027 if it controlled those components itself. STRK would remain the network’s token, and bridges from Ethereum would stay open under the proposal.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.