StarkWare, an Israel-based company working to scale Ethereum (ETH), has released the testnet for their latest layer 2 solution, Starknet v12.0. The new version focuses on improving performance and user experience, with a significant 10x increase in performance achieved by implementing the Sequencer in Rust.
Starknet update signals a boost for Ethereum scalability
According to the company’s blog post, the Sequencer has been optimized with the help of LambdaClass, resulting in a smoother user experience by removing the PENDING state of transactions. A new system call has also been introduced to easily retrieve hashes from previous blocks.
Also, the new version of Starknet supports a new Cairo syntax that focuses on security. This means that the new syntax is designed to make it easier for developers to write secure smart contracts that are less prone to errors and vulnerabilities.
The network upgrade to Starknet v12.0 will be put to a community vote, ensuring broad participation and input. The community will have the opportunity to shape the future of Starknet, and the update protocol to break changes includes a six-month window in which contracts compiled with the previous version of the compiler (v1.1.0) will still be accepted.
Starknet’s vision is to achieve substantial scalability in scale and cost, with reducing transaction costs as the next priority. The long-term goal is to provide a scalable, flexible, and cost-effective infrastructure for decentralized applications.
The upcoming Starknet Alpha V0.12.0 vote will allow the community to review and test the updated version before approving it for Mainnet deployment. Everyone is invited to participate in the proposal and vote on whether to update Starknet Mainnet accordingly.
Starknet allows developers to code solutions that make a difference, and the new version allows developers to start their development journey in Cairo. With the Cairo docs, Cairo Basecamp, and tutorials, developers can stay up-to-date with all release updates by subscribing to the Starknet Developers newsletter.
The release of Starknet Alpha V0.12.0 represents a significant milestone for StarkWare and Ethereum, with the Layer 2 solution’s focus on performance and user experience promising to improve scalability and lower transaction costs for decentralized applications.
Ethereum Prices Rise, but Network Activity Shows No Significant Momentum
according to recent data From Glassnode, despite the recent rise in Ethereum prices, network activity has not seen a significant boost, and gas prices remain relatively low. This is in contrast to the situation during the Shanghai update in April, which preceded a similar rally in the ETH markets, where gas prices rose 78%.
Gas prices on the Ethereum network measure the cost of executing smart contracts and transactions. When the demand for transaction processing exceeds the available network capacity, gas prices rise as users compete to process their transactions faster. This often happens during periods of high network activity, such as market rallies and updates.
However, the recent rally in Ethereum prices does not seem to have caused a significant increase in network activity, as gas prices have been relatively stable.
This could be due to several factors, such as the current rally being driven more by institutional investors and DeFi protocols than individual users. Also, there may be more grid capacity available now than during the Shanghai upgrade, which could be helping to keep gas prices in check.
Despite low gas prices, there are still signs of growth and development within the Ethereum ecosystem. The recent launch of StarkWare’s Starknet v12.0 testnet, for example, is a major milestone for Ethereum, as it promises to improve scalability and lower transaction costs for decentralized applications built on the network.
ETH is trading at $1,900, following in the footsteps of Bitcoin, and is down 1.8% in the last 24 hours.
