From October 15 to 22, the @Starknet community held a non-binding vote, with 93.52% of voting power supporting research into becoming an independent post-quantum L1. This is not a direct decision to migrate; it merely authorizes the team to draft a whitepaper and refine the proposal. A subsequent binding vote will be required later. STRK remains the original token, and the bridge stays open. The benefits of remaining an L2 are clear: settlement and finality directly leverage Ethereum’s security, offering significantly stronger economic security than self-hosting; liquidity and on/off ramps are deeply integrated with the Ethereum ecosystem, minimizing friction for users and applications; data availability costs are absorbed by Ethereum, ensuring proven stability. Becoming an independent L1 trades this for autonomy: full control over the timeline—with a goal to complete a full-stack post-quantum solution by 2027, without waiting for Ethereum’s 2029 roadmap; consensus, validators, DA, and bridges can be designed to meet specific needs; account abstraction can be unified at the protocol level from the start. If successfully achieved, it could position Starknet as the first full-stack post-quantum network. But the costs are substantial: Starknet must independently prove its security model is robust, no longer relying on Ethereum’s multi-billion-dollar staking security; liquidity and bridge trust must be rebuilt from scratch; governance and operational complexity increase significantly. Some in the community argue that post-quantum research is essential, but not necessarily at the cost of severing Ethereum settlement—both paths could remain mutually beneficial. For now, this remains a research option: Starknet continues operating as an Ethereum L2, with the whitepaper in development. The real fork lies in the upcoming binding vote: should the community prioritize faster cryptographic autonomy, or the deeper security and liquidity moat provided by Ethereum? For holders and builders, the short-term focus is whether the research outcome can preserve both security credibility and ecosystem continuity; the long-term trade-off remains to be decided. @Starknet