STRK Rises 322% in Four Weeks While Bitcoin and Ether Lag Behind

STRK more than quadruples while Bitcoin and Ether post single-digit gains

Starknet's STRK token gained 322% over roughly four weeks ending Sunday, Oct. 11, according to The Defiant's calculations using CoinGecko data. That compares to a 9.17% gain for Bitcoin and a 2.69% gain for Ether over the same period.

STRK traded at about $0.1182 at 8:49 p.m. ET on Oct. 11, up from roughly $0.0280 at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 13. Over a shorter seven-day window starting Oct. 4, STRK climbed 101.70% while Bitcoin fell 3.04% and Ether dropped 6.70%.

The rally was not smooth. STRK fell about 17% between late Oct. 4 and early Oct. 8 Eastern Time before rebounding.

Key numbers at a glance

• STRK 28-day return: 322.26%
• Bitcoin 28-day return: 9.17%
• Ether 28-day return: 2.69%
• STRK 7-day return: 101.70% vs Bitcoin at −3.04% and Ether at −6.70%
• Starknet TVL: rose from $159.6 million to $167.8 million, a 5.1% increase over 27 days
• Starknet DEX volume: rose from $6.3 million to $41.4 million between Sept. 14 and Oct. 10

StarkWare and Starknet push for an independent Layer 1

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson posted on Oct. 11 that the world needs Starknet as a quantum-safe Layer 1, adding, "Market says it." StarkWare released a statement on Oct. 10 calling an independent Layer 1 "our clearest path forward."

Starknet, however, described the change differently on Oct. 9, calling it "a question, not a decision." The newer statements advocate the shift but do not announce approval or implementation. StarkWare's published quantum-readiness roadmap says all protocol-level changes remain subject to governance approval on Starknet.

Currently, Starknet operates as a Layer 2 on Ethereum, sending cryptographic proofs to Ethereum for verification. Independence would let the network control its own security upgrades without waiting on Ethereum. Starknet has set a 2027 target for full quantum resistance.

TVL growth far trails the token price surge

DefiLlama data show Starknet's total value locked, or TVL (the dollar value held in DeFi protocols), rose only about 5% over the same 27-day window. DEX trading volume, which measures decentralized-exchange activity, expanded more sharply, but neither measure establishes what caused the token's buying.

What is confirmed

• STRK gained 322.26% over the matched 28-day window ending Oct. 11, versus 9.17% for Bitcoin and 2.69% for Ether.
• Starknet's TVL rose from $159.6 million to $167.8 million between Sept. 14 and Oct. 11.
• StarkWare CEO Ben-Sasson and StarkWare have publicly advocated for an independent Layer 1.
• All protocol-level changes remain subject to Starknet governance.

What remains unclear

• The sources do not identify a single confirmed cause for STRK's price surge.
• The move to an independent Layer 1 has not been approved or implemented.
• Neither TVL growth nor DEX volume data establishes why investors bought STRK.

Sources

• The Defiant