StarkNet - a king project valued at 8 billion

01

What is StarNet? #StarkNet

Starknet is a decentralized L2 protocol based on ZK-Rollup technology, an ultra-secure mechanism whereby inputs used by off-chain provers are not exposed on the blockchain.

It is based on a highly scalable cryptographic proof system called STARK, enabling dapps to achieve unlimited scale without compromising Ethereum’s composability and security.

StarkNet is L2 compatible with Ethereum at the language level. As a member of ZKR in L2, StarkNet's performance in terms of tps and gas far exceeds that of OPRs such as Optimism and Arbitrum.

How is StarkNet different?

In the Layer 2 world, StarkNet is one of the four kings along with Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync.

Compared with Arbitrum and Optimism, StarkNet uses zk-Rollup, which can complete the packaging transaction without knowing who the verifier is. At the same time, there is no need for a seven-day waiting period when transferring assets across chains.

StarkNet takes into account both privacy and scalability, especially the privacy and data security aspects of protecting users' transaction information, which is lacking in most Layer 2 expansion solutions today.

Compared with zkSync in the same camp, zkSync uses zk-SNARKs as a zero-knowledge proof system, which is smaller and consumes less gas; while Starknet uses zk-STARKs, which has higher transparency and security.

StarNet is an Efficient-enabled (aka ZK-enabled) layer 2 network that runs on top of Ethereum, allowing DAP to scale at scale without compromising security.

It achieves this goal by bundling transactions to external links, and the calculations show clear evidence. This proof is then submitted to Esalem as a single transaction, greatly increasing throughput, shortening processing time, and reducing costs while maintaining the robust security of the Esalem settlement layer.

02

The scale of the star network

Blockchain aims to achieve three core properties: security, decentralization and scalability. In the world of chains, the well-known "ternary" is that in a given system, it is only possible to implement two of them simultaneously, inevitably requiring a compromise on the third system. Taseren places more emphasis on security and decentralization, affecting its scalability. The growing number of users has led to slower transaction speeds and high gas prices, hindering widespread adoption.

How do we make it scalable without compromising its security and decentralization? This is where Starnet Validity Volume comes in. Combining ETham and StarNet enables massive scalability.

Starnet achieves scale by moving transaction processing off the main Elitum network (what we call off-chain) while retaining on-chain transaction digests. Transactions are grouped into chunks, processed out of the chain, and then summarized into a single chain transaction. Since transactions occur off-chain, it is crucial to ensure the integrity of the transaction and its execution without having to re-execute it. StarNet works by employing rigid (scalable, transparent proofs of knowledge) verifiable computational proofs. StarNet then transmits only basic information about the block and evidence to Enelum, where it is verified with minimal computational effort.

03

StarNet Sorter

The first core component of the Star Network is the Star Network sequence. Orderers play a key role in overseeing the verification and execution of transactions and proposing blocks. Their main function is to group transactions and process them as a collective entity. Unsuccessful transactions are marked and blocked by the sequencer, allowing only successful transactions to move forward and be included in a block. The number of transactions processed per second by StarNet's sequencer greatly exceeds that of electronic nodes.

The next core component of StarNet is the prover.

StarNet Prover

Validators ensure the integrity of a block's transactions by generating a clear proof of their mathematical validity. Chunks are grouped and processed simultaneously. During this phase, the verifier will record each step of transaction execution and create a so-called execution trace, while tracking corresponding changes in the system state, i.e. state DIFF.

An algorithm then carefully amplifies and blends the data from the execution trace. This step puts any issues at the forefront, as even one instance of bad data can contaminate the entire extended dataset, making any issues impossible to miss. The verifier then selects a random set of samples from this blast data to create clear evidence. This clearly proves the validity of thousands of transactions.

Settled safely in Esalem

Obvious proofs and state differences are transferred to ETERUum as a transaction, where the ETLEUM node accepts the transaction and unpacks the proofs and state differences. These unwrapped components are handled by two Ethereum smart contracts: validators and Starnet Core. The validator contract breaks down the proof and analyzes samples from it. Any questionable data hints in the evidence sample will result in rapid rejection by the verifier. Once the validity of the evidence is confirmed, it is submitted to the StarNet core smart contract.

The core contract verifies the authenticity of the evidence and confirms the discrepancy in the received status, and subsequently updates the StarNet status of the Esselem block chain. This updated state is then added to the ELULUum block, which is distributed across the network of nodes for validation and voting. When a block accumulates enough votes, it reaches "final" status, solidifying its status as an immutable part.

04

Investment agency

StarkWare is favored by investment institutions. Vitalik is their seed round investor. In addition to Vitalik, the list of investors also includes repeat investors such as Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Pantera Capital, and Founders Fund.

So far, StarkWare has completed 6 rounds of financing, namely seed round, Grant, Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D, with a total financing of US$273 million. Especially in the latest round of financing, the amount of financing reached US$100 million, and StarkWare's valuation directly quadrupled to US$8 billion. The valuation ranks first among all Layer 2, and it is truly a king-level project.

There are many venture capital funds that we are familiar with, such as Redshirt, Tiger, Paradigm, Coinbase and so on. During the seed round, V God and the Ethereum Foundation also participated in the financing. The financing lineup is very luxurious.

05

Team information

According to the official website, there are currently 78 employees, 7 technical consultants, and 5 traditional consultants. The two founders, Ben, have very in-depth research in cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs. He is also Stark, co-inventor of the Zerocash protocol and the founding scientist of Zcash. The other founder is a serial entrepreneur who has founded a number of technology companies and has extensive experience in entrepreneurship and business management. The team's capabilities are very comprehensive.

06

Token model

starknet announced the token economic model.

Token distribution: The initial issuance is 10 billion, 17% will be allocated to StarkWare investors, 32.9% will be allocated to core contributors, and 51% will be allocated to the foundation. It also has an additional issuance mechanism.

Token empowerment: Tokens can be used to pay for Starknet network fees, pledge to participate in network consensus, and community governance voting. It is basically the same as the current mainstream token economic model.

07

StarkNet Advantages

Unlike other ZK rollups like zkSync, StarkNet is not a “zkEVM” — meaning the smart contracts (that power your favorite Dapps on Ethereum like Uniswap and OpenSea) must be written in Cairo, StarkNet’s own programming language.

Cairo is a very powerful language optimized for ZK rollups. It allows you to do everything you can do on an EVM and more because the computational cost is much lower.

This creates entirely new possibilities that were previously impossible on the blockchain, such as real blockchain games!

Since Cairo is a new programming language, developers who want to start coding for StarkNet may be put off doing so because they have to learn Cairo. Fortunately, smart contracts written for Ethereum can be converted to Cairo using a "translator" such as Nethermind's Warp, but they will not be fully optimized for StarkNet.​

08

Summarize

In the midst of a bear market for cryptocurrencies, Starknet has dug in and made considerable progress over the year. We can see from Nethermind’s industry review that Starknet’s related indicators have improved in the past 2023:

Active accounts rose from 2,126 to over 69,000

Block creation time reduced from 2000 seconds to 97.09 seconds

Total past cross-chain funding through StarkGate grew from less than $6,000 to $109 million

The number of full-time developers is 166

Perhaps with the issuance of Starknet’s currency, Starknet’s official incentives for the DeFi protocol in its ecosystem, and the recovery of the overall market, the above numbers will further increase in 2024, and it will also benefit ecological projects throughout L2.