Ethereum Scaler Starknet Launches Testnet for Transformative ‘Quantum Leap’ Upgrade

The Ethereum scaling solution Starknet has rolled out the testnet for its layer-2 network.

The roll-out, conducted by the Israel-based development firm StarkWare, is the first step towards bringing the upgraded solution, dubbed Starknet Quantum Leap, to the mainnet around July 13, provided it passes a community vote, a recent blog post from StarkWare said.

Starknet Quantum Leap Throughput just skyrocketed!

Alpha V0.12.0 hits the testnet with a bang! 💥💪

We proudly announce that Starknet alpha V0.12.0 has been successfully launched on the testnet. pic.twitter.com/9BUiR3MFDz

— Starknet 🐺🐱 (@Starknet) July 6, 2023

The focus on the network upgrade is on performance, and specifically on improved throughout, which are now described as “unparalleled” in the Ethereum ecosystem.

According to the blog post, throughput has “surged” from an average of 30,000 Cairo steps per second (CSPS) on the previous version, to 220,000 CSPS in Quantum Leap, representing close to a 10x increase.

“This remarkable achievement results from targeted optimizations that underpin the efficiency of the Starknet Sequencer,” the blog post said, while naming Cairo-rs, Blockifier, and Papyrus as key technical ingredients that have contributed to the improvement.

Higher throughout means transactions made on the network can be processed faster, but it often comes at the expense of the network’s decentralization.

However, high throughput is typically seen as necessary for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, as it makes it easier to develop responsive applications with a user experience that is more similar traditional centralized applications.

Eliminates pending transactions

In addition to significantly speeding up transactions, the new network upgrade eliminates the “PENDING” status for transactions and replaces it with “ACCEPTED_ON_L2,” which according to StarkWare reflects the “finality status of transactions.”

As its next step, StarkWare said it is focused on enhancing the user experience and reliability of transactions.

Among other things, it said that the next version will introduce further improvements such as the inclusion of failed transactions in blocks, making it possible to charge a fee for them.

Following that, the next priority on the agenda is to “reduce transaction costs dramatically,” the firm said about its future plans.

Starknet is a so-called “ZK-Rollup” solution that operates as a second layer on top of the Ethereum network, enabling faster and cheaper transactions in a way that mainly caters to DeFi users.