StarkWare splits into two units after Starknet revenue crashes 99%

Starknet revenue collapse triggers strategic pivot

At the end of 2023, the Starknet blockchain—managed by StarkWare—was generating monthly revenues as high as $6 million. By the first week of April 2026, however, this figure had plummeted to just $48,000. One major factor was the March 2024 integration of Ethereum’s EIP-4844 upgrade, which sharply reduced fees for layer 2 solutions across the sector.

Despite this, Starknet’s total value locked (TVL) has remained above $200 million. The dramatic revenue drop, however, has forced StarkWare to shift away from a purely infrastructure-centric approach and focus on building directly revenue-generating products.

In a company address, CEO Eli Ben-Sasson announced StarkWare would be reorganized into two independent units, with an explicit focus on developing new, internally profitable products. He underlined that the company’s technological advantages must now yield tangible revenue and widespread usage.

Eli Ben-Sasson highlighted a lack of clear leadership across the blockchain sector, adding that even major projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum are feeling this void.

He also indicated that, moving forward, StarkWare would focus solely on high-potential ventures that other teams cannot execute.

New application division and Quantum Safe Bitcoin initiative

As part of the restructuring, StarkWare has appointed researcher Avihu Levy to head a new applications division focused squarely on revenue growth. Levy recently published a scientific article introducing the Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB) method, which safeguards Bitcoin from future quantum attacks.

QSB leverages hash-based proofs instead of traditional signature schemes, making transactions quantum-resistant without requiring changes to the Bitcoin protocol. However, this approach comes with significant computational demand, pushing per-transaction costs to between $75 and $200—substantially higher than the current average fee of $0.33 for standard bitcoin transfers.

The QSB proposal provides an alternative to BIP-360, an initiative to introduce protocol-level quantum security for Bitcoin, which was accepted into Bitcoin’s development pool in February but may take years to implement.

Although Ben-Sasson has not definitively stated that the new unit will address Bitcoin or quantum security directly, he stressed that the company will prioritize self-sufficient projects, substantially reducing reliance on external blockchains or third-party teams.

Ben-Sasson said further details on the company’s new direction would be announced next week.

When contacted, a company spokesperson declined to provide additional comment on the strategic shift.