Overview
Similar to other blockchainsStarknet uses the STRK token for paying fees to enable operation of the networkmaintaining and securing the network by enabling staking for consensusand deciding on Starknet’s values and technology goals by voting for governance proposalsof which ten billion tokens are planned to or have already been distributed as well asfurther tokens minted through an inflation mechanism.
The primary purpose of the Starknet tokenSTRKis to facilitate operations and activities on Starknet and it is not intended to serve as an investment.
Background
Blockchains are valuable because they are data structures maintained by diverse andideallylarge groups of otherwise unaffiliated persons. This gives them resilience: Any one participant can disappearbut the data structure is preserved. This also gives them censorship resistance: No single person can unilaterally decide to forbid certain persons from using the network.
To achieve thisblockchains work through a combination of cryptography and economic incentives: Cryptography limits what actors in the system can do (for exampletransactions must be validly signed to be included in the chain) and economic incentives encourage actors to voluntarily perform actions that maintain the network’s capabilities when spending their own resources (for exampleminers or stakers actively publish new blocks to the chain because they can receive fees and new tokens as a reward).
Starknet achieves secure low-cost transactions by using the STARK cryptographic proof system to reduce the size of transaction data while preserving and verifying the integrity of that data. To achieve resilience and censorship resistanceStarknet uses the STRK token to incentivize network participants to sequence transactions for users of the network and to ensure that there is a provably fair proof-of-stake mechanism to determine who should sequence and submit a proof for the network blocks.
Purposes
- Transaction fees: Originallyfees in Starknet were paid only in Ether (ETH)which was followed by the functionality of paying fees for transactions on the network using both STRKas well as ETH. As of the release of v.0.14.0 on September 12025transaction fees on Starknet can only be paid with STRK.
A portion of the fees paid in STRK may be converted to ETH by the receiving sequencerin order to cover Ethereum L1 gas costswhichdue to the specifications of the Ethereum protocolmust be paid in ETH.
- Staking: Certain services that are critical to the liveness and security of Starknet may require the staking of Starknet tokens. These services might be offered by multiple providersand could include sequencingreaching temporary L2 consensus before L1 finality is reachedSTARK-proving servicesand data availability provisioningto name a few examples. Some of these protocol changes are still under discussion within the larger governance community and are targeted for 2025 -2026. As of the last update of this paperstaking is live and validators are required to attest blocks to ensure the network’s stability and security - for more information on Starknet stakingsee here.
- Governance: Proposals for improving Starknet might require a minimal token support threshold. Votingeither directly or via delegationwill be required for changes to the protocol that are essential to Starknet’s livenesssecurityand maintenance. Todayfor examplemajor updates to the Starknet Operating System require the approval of token holders. For more information about Governance see the Starknet Governance Hub
As discussed abovethe Starknet tokens are digital assets intended to support the operation and usage of Starknet and are not offered as an investment. As suchthe Starknet tokens do not represent any equity in StarkWare or the Starknet Foundationnor do they provide any participation right in StarkWare or grant any right of claim from StarkWare or the Starknet Foundation.
Supply and distribution
Ten billion Starknet tokens were initially created by StarkWare in May 2022 and minted onchain on November 302022.
The existing ten billion tokens have been or are planned to be distributed according to the following:
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| 20.04%: Early Contributors | Tokens allocated for StarkWare’s team members and early contributors. These tokens are subject to a lock-up scheduleas further detailed below. |
| 18.17%: Investors | Tokens allocated for StarkWare’s investors. These tokens are subject to a lock-up scheduleas further detailed below. |
| 10.76%: StarkWare | Tokens allocated for StarkWare for operation services such as to pay feesprovide other services on Starknetand engage other service providers. |
| 12.93%: Grants including Development Partners (aka DPs) | Tokens allocated for grants for research or work done to developtestdeploy and maintain the Starknet protocol. The process for applications and allocations related to Starknet Foundation Grants will be outlined in a post at a later date. |
| 9.00%: Community Provisions | Tokens distributed to those who contributed to Starknet and powered or developed its underlying technology. |
| 9.00%: Community Rebates | Tokens allocated for rebates in Starknet tokens to partially cover the costs of onboarding to Starknet from Ethereum. |
| 10.00%: Foundation Strategic Reserves | Tokens allocated for the Starknet Foundation to fund ecosystem activities that are aligned with the Foundation’s mission. |
| 8.10%: Foundation Treasury | Token allocated for the Starknet Foundation’s treasury available for operations and other future initiatives by the Starknet Foundation. |
| 2.00%: Donations | Tokens reserved for donations to institutions and organizationssuch as universitiesNGOsetcas decided by the Starknet Foundation. |
- Up to 0.64% (64 million tokens) have been unlocked on the 15th of each monthstarting April 152024and going through March 152025for a total of 7.68% (768 million tokens) unlocked by March 152025.
- Up to 1.27% (127 million tokens) have been and will be unlocked on the 15th of each monthstarting April 152025and going through March 152027for a total of 30.48% (3.048 billion tokens) unlocked by March 152027.
The above graph excludes newly circulating tokens resulting from inflation or staking (see below).Token allotments currently retained by the Starknet Foundationwhile contractually unlockedare not considered circulating unless granteddonatedor otherwise allocated out of originating wallets through future grantsprovisionsdonationsdeveloper initiativesor other programs.
Risks and disclaimers
Starknet is a developing decentralized protocol and the economic mechanisms described herein are subject to change based on decisions made by the larger community of Starknet builders and users. Starknet relies upon third parties to adopt and implement software and protocols as users and contributors of Starknet. It also reliesin whole or partlyon third parties to developsupply and otherwise support it. There is no assurance or guarantee that such third parties will continue to participate in the network or that the network will continue to function as intended.
The technical documents provided herein describe certain planned and specified economic fundamentals of a digital assetSTRK. These materials are intended for informational purposes only and are meant to outline the usage and functionalities of the asset within Starknet. It is important to understand that the primary purpose of STRK is to pay for feesprovide a mechanism for securing consensusand allow for decentralized governance on Starknet; it is not intended to serve as an investment.
Starknet relies upon third parties to adopt and implement the software and protocols as users of Starknet. It also reliesin whole or partlyon third parties to developsupply and otherwise support it. As a Layer 2 network over EthereumStarknet also relies upon third parties maintaining and operating the Ethereum network. There is no assurance or guarantee that those third parties will complete their workproperly carry out their obligationsand/or otherwise meet anyone’s needs.
STRKas the native token of Starknetmay be subject to the risks of the Starknet networkincludingwithout limitationthe following: (i) the technology associated with Starknet may not function as intended; (ii) the details of the Starknet token economics including the total supply and distribution schedule may be changed due to decisions madeamongst otherby the consensus of participants of the Starknet network; (iii) Starknet may fail to attract sufficient interest from key stakeholders or users; (iv) Starknet may not progress satisfactorily and Starknet tokens may not be useful or valuable; (v) Starknet may suffer from attacks by hackers or other individuals; and (vi) Starknet is comprised of open-source technologies that depend on a network of computers to run certain software programs to process transactionsand because of this model StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation have very limited control over Starknet.
Risks related to blockchain technology in general and Starknet in particular may impact the usefulness of Starknetandin turnthe utility or value of STRK. The software and hardwaretechnology and technical concepts and theories applicable to Starknet and STRK are still in an early development stage and there is no warranty that Starknet will achieve any specific level of functionality or successnor that the underlying technology will be uninterrupted or error-freeand there is an inherent risk that the technology could contain weaknessesvulnerabilities or bugs causingpotentiallythe complete loss of any Starknet tokens held by Starknet users.
As with most commonly used public blockchainsSTRKs held in user accounts are most commonly accessed using a private key that corresponds to the address at which they are stored. Howeveralternative access mechanismssuch as biometricsmultisignature setupsor other authentication methodsare also available depending on the account’s contract code. If the private keyor the “seed” used to create the address and corresponding private key are lost or stolenthe tokens associated with that address might be unrecoverable and might be permanently lost.
Public blockchain-based systemsincluding Starknet and the underlying Ethereum networkdepend on independent verifiersand therefore may be vulnerable to consensus attacks includingbut not limited todouble-spend attacksmajority voting power attacksrace condition attacksand censorship attacks. These attacksif successfulcould result in the permanent loss of STRK.
StarknetSTRKand blockchain technology are nascentand there may be additional risks not described above or that may be new or unanticipated. We recommend only using Starknet or holding STRK if you are familiar with the technology and aware of the risks.
This document and its contents are notand should not be construed asan offer to sellor the solicitation of an offer to buyany tokensnor should it or any part of it form the basis or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. This document is not advice of any kindincluding legalinvestmentfinancialtaxor any other professional advice. Nothing in this document should be read or interpreted as a guarantee or promise of how the Starknet network or its STRK will developbe utilizedor accrue value.
All information in this document is provided on an “as is” basis without any representation or warranty of any kind. This document only outlines current planswhich could change at the discretion of various partiesand the success of which will depend on many factors outside of StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation’s control. Such future statements necessarily involve known and unknown riskswhich may cause actual performance and results in future periods to differ materially from what we have described or implied in this document. StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation disclaim all warrantiesexpress or impliedto the fullest extent permitted by law with respect to the functionality of Starknet and STRK.
Further reading
Learn more in the STRK MICAr White Paperpublished on behalf of Tzolkin GmbH
