STRK Falls 38% in a Week as Starknet Rally Reverses

STRK gives back part of a four-week gain

Starknet's STRK token fell about 38% in the seven days ending Oct. 19, reversing a recent rally, according to The Defiant's calculations using CoinGecko data. Bitcoin and ether were close to flat over the same period.

STRK traded at about $0.0570 at 1:09 p.m. ET, down 37.77% from $0.0916 at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 12. Over the comparable window, bitcoin lost 0.68% and ether fell 4.54%. The Defiant said all three comparisons start at the same time and end around 1:10 p.m. ET on Oct. 19.

Starknet is an Ethereum Layer 2 network, meaning it processes transactions on top of Ethereum to make them cheaper and faster.

Key numbers from the week

• STRK: about $0.0570 on Oct. 19, down 37.77% from $0.0916 on Oct. 12.
• Bitcoin: down 0.68% over the comparable window.
• Ether: down 4.54% over the comparable window.
• STRK was still up 29.56% from its Sept. 21 price of about $0.0440 over the latest four-week window.
• The reversal follows a reported 322% STRK gain between Sept. 13 and Oct. 11.

DeFi value and trading volume cool off

The value held in Starknet's DeFi protocols fell a smaller 5.3%, according to DefiLlama's daily snapshots. Total value locked dropped from $166.8 million on Oct. 12 to $158.0 million on Oct. 19. Those snapshots are taken at midnight UTC, earlier than the price observations, and dollar-valued TVL reflects asset price changes as well as deposits and withdrawals.

Daily decentralized exchange volume was uneven rather than a steady slide. It fell from $35.0 million on Oct. 12 to $9.5 million on Oct. 18, the latest complete UTC calendar day, but reached $52.5 million on Oct. 15. Those figures cover trading across Starknet's DEXs, not just STRK.

A scheduled token release landed during the decline

Starknet's token documentation provides for unlocking up to 127 million STRK allocated to investors and early contributors on the 15th of each month through March 2027. The schedule does not establish whether recipients sold tokens during the decline.

What StarkWare says about the L1 research vote

The proposed departure from Ethereum settlement remains at the research stage. The non-binding governance poll, which The Defiant covered last week, is still active. Its text says a yes vote supports further research and "does not constitute approval of a transition to an L1." Any transition would require a dedicated governance process.

StarkWare said in an Oct. 19 update that voting closes Oct. 22.

What is confirmed

• STRK's roughly 38% weekly decline and the bitcoin and ether figures come from The Defiant's calculations using CoinGecko data, with the stated start and end times.
• DefiLlama data shows Starknet DeFi TVL falling 5.3% between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19.
• DEX volume figures of $35.0 million on Oct. 12, $52.5 million on Oct. 15 and $9.5 million on Oct. 18 come from DefiLlama data.
• Starknet's token documentation sets out the monthly unlock of up to 127 million STRK through March 2027.
• The governance poll remains active and covers research only, per its own text, with voting set to close Oct. 22 according to StarkWare.

What is still unclear

The sources do not establish why STRK fell, and the token unlock schedule does not show whether recipients sold tokens during the decline. The poll is non-binding, so it does not approve any move away from Ethereum settlement. The timing of the TVL snapshots differs from the price observations, which limits direct comparison.

Why it matters

The decline is notable because it stands out against bitcoin and ether, which moved much less over the same days, and because it came after a large prior gain. The network's DeFi value and trading activity are also mixed, with TVL down modestly and DEX volume uneven across the week.

Sources

• The Defiant

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