Israeli company StarkWare created StarkNet which is the layer-2 (L2) scaling product for the Ethereum blockchain is now going live integrating with crypto infrastructure giant Alchemy's development kit.

Alchemy provides support to large swath of Web3 along with customers ranging from banks to crypto exchanges because of the integration of StarkNet solution. The users of Alchemy now can build services using low-cost StarkNet tools.

Alchemy said in a statement "StarkNet’s utilization of Validity and ZK-rollups effectively solves core Web3 problems. Validity rollups increase scalability by bundling transactions together off-chain, and then verifying them on-chain with just a fraction of the cost,".

As per StarkWare co-founders Uri Kolodny, L2 technologies, like StarkNet, will be "crucial" in serving a "massive anticipated rise" in blockchain use. According to other co-founders of StarkWare, Ben-Sasson, the StarkNet platform is like "the missing link in tech evolution which makes blockchain usable for everything" and will ultimately "propel us to a Web3 reality." The founders expect that within the next year StarkNet to be fully decentralized. In a Series C funding round, StarkWare raised $50 million brought the firm’s valuation to $2 billion.

Not only Alchemy is the only major crypto player to deploy StarkNet, but NFT gaming startup Immutable is also planning to make its heavy transaction operations on StarkNet. For this recently it has raised $200 million.

What is StarkNet?

StarkNet tool is a permissionless validity rollup solution. It relies on a form of cryptography known as zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs rollup technology to solve Ethereum’s scaling problem. The ZK rollup process involves bundling hundreds of transactions into one, which is then written to the Ethereum blockchain. The process is computationally intensive. A ZK involves proving something that is true without revealing other private details. The underlying technology which is used in StarkNet has also been deployed on dYdX which is a market for cryptocurrency derivatives that runs on Ethereum without the usual fees associated with it. Compared to competing for a technology known as optimistic which may take a week to clear, ZK-based computations are much faster. StarkNet, provide gas fees that are much lower compared to transactions on the Ethereum base layer as ZK rollups, which involves writing one of the transactions to the blockchain instead of hundreds. It uses basic compression technology that enables to boost the production and security benefits of Ethereum layer 1. This product provides much cheaper gas fees, transactions costs, and "limitless" scaling potential.

What is a layer 2 solution?

Layer 2 solutions are the process of making high transactions volumes with the same immutable records as Ethereum but at much cheaper compared to Ethereum Layer 1. The process is not a part of Ethereum's core blockchain. It periodically writes a record of those activities to Ethereum itself. Starkware's Layer 2 scaling solution provides cheap and instant transactions within its mobile browser wallet.

Along with StarkNet other Layer, 2 solution includes Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum, which have gained traction over the past two years.

Indrani bose

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA