🚀 StarkWare: Lower Fees, Increased Network Activity
posted 18 Nov 2024
StarkWare is gearing up for a significant upgrade to Starknet, its Ethereum-based Layer 2 solution powered by the ZK-STARK cryptographic mechanism.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson announced plans to quadruple transaction speed and reduce fees by five times within the next three months. These advancements aim to position Starknet as a serious competitor to other high-performance networks, such as Solana.
Eli Ben Sasson, StarkWare CEO. Source: Iq.wiki
Speaking at DevCon 2024 in Bangkok, Ben-Sasson explained that these performance improvements are due to “better compilation and faster execution” using Cairo, Starknet’s proprietary smart contract language.
The planned upgrades will push Starknet’s throughput beyond 1,000 transactions per second (TPS), rivaling Solana, which typically processes between 800 and 1,050 TPS, according to Solana Compass.
Reducing fees remains StarkWare’s priority, as the company anticipates increased blockchain activity and corresponding transaction volume growth.
Related: Promising Projects Built on Starknet
Currently, Starknet supports a peak throughput of around 200 TPS, with its average recently reaching a record 129 TPS. Controlled stress tests revealed the network can hit a maximum of 857 transactions per second under optimal conditions.
Starknet Reaches a Peak of 857 TPS. Source: starknet.io
Currently, Starknet offers some of the lowest transaction fees among Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, with a median fee of just $0.002 per transaction.
For comparison, two other popular Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, Optimism and Blast, have average transaction fees of $0.0013 and $0.002, respectively.
Notably, the fees on all three platforms are lower than those on Solana, which range from $0.001 to $0.11 over the same period, according to data from Dune Analytics.
These improvements, coupled with the rising interest in decentralized applications, are likely to attract more developers and users to Starknet.