StarkNet Layer 2 Network Sees Surge in Weekly Activity, TVL Rises 20%

Ethereum scaling team StarkWare deployed the Quantum Leap upgrade for its StarkNet layer 2 network on July 12.

StarkWare said Quantum Leap consistently produced a throughput of 37 transactions per second (TPS) during its public testnet, with a peak of 90 TPS. Transactions also typically contained latency of less than 10 seconds, significantly exceeding StarkWare’s 15-second target and on par with the Ethereum mainnet.

“The combination of higher throughput and faster inclusion means Quantum Leap will pave the way for faster DeFi applications, the creation of real AAA games, and more consumer services on the Web3 technology stack,” said Uri Kolodny, StarkWare Co-Founder and CEO.

After eight days of testnet activity and a governance proposal that passed with 97.9% approval, Quantum Leap has moved to mainnet deployment.

Zero-knowledge pioneer

StarkNet is a pioneering layer 2 network that utilizes zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs, with its mainnet rolling out beginning in late 2021.

Today, many of Ethereum’s top scaling teams are also focusing on zero-knowledge technology, with zkSync, Polygon, and Consensys all launching so-called “zkEVM” rollups in recent months. zkEVM is a layer 2 secured with zero-knowledge proofs that also supports code written for Ethereum’s smart contract engine, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

However, unlike its new-faced competitors, StarkNet is not EVM-compatible, meaning that dApp and protocol developers running on Ethereum will need to recompile their code in its native language, Cairo, before deploying on the network.

Still, StarkWare is now betting that its impressive throughput can entice developers to migrate to its network, and has hinted that StarkNet will soon launch validium to further achieve scalability gains of “an order of magnitude.”

Rollups are the leading scaling solution that bundles transactions on Layer 2 together and then submits them in batches to the Ethereum mainnet to reduce the fees associated with each included transaction. Validiums promises to provide further scaling benefits by storing most transaction data off-chain.

According to L2beat, the Ethereum mainnet currently processes 12 TPS per day, a metric that peaked at 22.4 in December. zkSync Era ranks second with 11.33 TPS, followed by Arbitrum One with 8.6 TPS.

StarkNet is currently ranked seventh, with a 183% increase in weekly activity.