$STRK-USD

Starknet co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson clarified that Starknet's technical direction is not a divergence from Ethereum, but a separate discussion about a potential Layer 1 (L1) transition. STRK token surged 82% last week, with market cap doubling to $807 million, following Starknet's announcement of a long-term vision to address quantum computing threats. Ben-Sasson emphasized the need for independent security migration, not waiting for Ethereum or Bitcoin.

In the third week of October 2026, Cronos (CRO), Arbitrum (ARB), and Starknet (STRK) will unlock tokens worth $845.8 million, potentially affecting market volatility. Cronos will unlock 1.17 billion CRO ($70.85 million) on October 17, Arbitrum 92.65 million ARB ($18.40 million) on October 16, and Starknet 127 million STRK ($15.42 million) on October 15. The unlocked tokens represent a small percentage of each project's released supply.

Layer 2 and DePIN tokens led crypto gains over 24 hours, with Starknet (STRK) up 111.53% and Grass (GRASS) rising 49.41%. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) saw smaller increases, while meme and CeFi assets declined.

Starknet's STRK token surged 322% in 30 days, reaching over $0.12, driven by plans to become an independent Layer 1 blockchain. The proposal aims to enhance control over security upgrades, with market cap between $860M-$888M. However, the shift is still a proposal with no confirmed timeline, and STRK remains 97% below its all-time high.

StarkWare, developer of Starknet, is considering making Starknet an independent layer-1 blockchain to become quantum-resistant by 2027, ahead of Ethereum's timeline. Starknet's token, STRK, surged 20-40% on the news. StarkWare argues that Starknet's security depends on Ethereum's roadmap, which is too slow. Coinbase's cryptography head disagrees, calling the concerns fear-driven. The move is still under consideration and requires governance approval.