Welcome to the 23rd edition of the monthly recap, your go-to source for the most significant updates and developments within the Starknet ecosystem.
Key Highlights of the Month
Bitcoin on Starknet, Starknet on Bitcoin
The synergy between Bitcoin and Starknet continues to evolve with exciting new developments.
The leading Bitcoin memecoin by market capitalization, DOG, is now deeply woven into the Starknet ecosystem. It is now available for trading on platforms such as AVNU, Remus, Layer Akira, and Fibrous. You can also use DOG for lending and borrowing on Vesu and trade it or use it as an LP token on Ekubo, which now includes DeFi Spring incentives for DOG. This integration means you can bridge, trade, and earn yield with your Runes, expanding their utility on Starknet.
A new variant of BTC, tBTC, is now directly mintable on Starknet, making it available for integration and use across Starknet’s DeFi landscape.
Furthermore, Layerswap has introduced direct bridging from Bitcoin, a feature that, besides Ethereum, is exclusively offered for Starknet.
Looking ahead, Bitcoin staking is anticipated to launch on Starknet in the third quarter of 2025, and more details have been unveiled. The key aspects include:
- BTC holders will have the ability to stake their BTC on Starknet.
- Bitcoin will contribute to Starknet’s economic security, accounting for up to 25% of the validator staking power.
- STRK will continue to be the primary staking asset, representing over 75% of validator power.
- A mechanism to align the interests of BTC and STRK holders will be implemented.
- The target for this launch is Q3 2025.
Regarding Asset Runes, USDC bridging between Bitcoin and Starknet is now operational on StarkGate. You can create USDC Runes on Bitcoin and redeem them on Starknet at any time. Additionally, USDC can now be traded directly on Bitcoin via the Magic Eden aggregator.
Starknet’s Continuous Improvement
The ecosystem is advancing at a rapid pace, with the final elements of the current roadmap expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
A new minor but crucial version, Starknet v0.13.6, was deployed on Testnet on June 30 and is scheduled for Mainnet on July 8. This update is essential as it sets the stage for the integration of S-two, StarkWare’s next-generation prover. The S-two MVP promises to:
- Reduce proving time for 2B L2 gas blocks from 24 minutes to under 3 minutes.
- Decrease proving costs by at least half.
It’s important to note that S-two is not activated with v0.13.6; this version merely prepares the network for its future implementation.
The subsequent major release, Starknet v0.14.0, is planned for Mainnet in mid-August. This version will introduce:
- A new sequencer architecture featuring four sequencers operating in rotation, coordinated by a Tendermint-like consensus, marking a significant move towards decentralization.
- Pre-confirmations, which will lower the perceived finality for most transactions to approximately 0.5 seconds from the current ~2 seconds.
- The deprecation of legacy transactions, making v3 transactions (RPC 0.8) the standard. While STRK will be the sole native gas token, users can still pay fees with other tokens using Paymasters from AVNU and Cartridge.
- A mempool and EIP-1559, where transaction priority is determined by fees rather than on a first-in, first-out basis. This also paves the way for burning STRK from fees, similar to Ethereum’s mechanism.
- A reduction in block time from 30 seconds to 6 seconds.
Developers should review this version thoroughly due to the introduction of breaking changes.
Enhanced Performance, UX/DevX, and Decentralization
Staking v2 has been launched on Mainnet, bringing improvements to the economics and transparency of validators. The two main changes are:
- Block attestation: Validators are now required to attest to randomly selected blocks during each epoch.
- Commission adjustments: Validators have the ability to change their commission rates under specific, strict conditions.
With the completion of phase 2, the final staking architecture is now just two versions away.
As of June 30, the staking metrics showed 310 million STRK staked and 77 out of 121 validators actively attesting blocks.
In addition to Staking v2, StarkWare has revealed its plans to participate in STRK staking through two methods:
- Delegating millions of STRK to eligible validators based on certain conditions. Applications for those interested in receiving delegations from StarkWare are now open. The aim is to enhance decentralization by supporting smaller validators.
- Operating its own validator, with its stake capped at 10% of the total STRK staked. For instance, if 1 billion STRK is staked in total, StarkWare’s validator can stake a maximum of 100 million STRK.
On a related note, Figment now provides support for STRK staking, enabling institutions to delegate their STRK to Figment.
Starknet Ecosystem Updates
A Next-Generation Perpetual DEX is Coming to Starknet
Extended has revealed its vision and plans for migrating to Starknet. The migration process is designed to be seamless for users and will commence in the first half of August. The launch of Extended is considered one of the most significant DeFi events on Starknet since Vesu, offering:
- Perpetual trading on over 50 assets with leverage up to 100x.
- Trading pairs for cryptocurrencies as well as traditional financial markets like Gold, Nasdaq, USD, and EUR.
- A community vault with an approximate yield of 22% in USDC.
- Development by a team with strong credentials, including former Revolut employees.
- Comprehensive EVM wallet support, including MetaMask, Rabby, and Phantom.
All of this will be accessible directly on Starknet.
The Wolf Pack League is Now Open to All
The Wolf Pack League has officially launched, creating a program that allows anyone, from content creators to developers and designers, to contribute to Starknet’s expansion and earn rewards. Projects can also post their own bounties. This initiative creates a win-win situation for the growth of Starknet:
- Projects can instantly connect with Starknet’s community of creators and developers to accelerate their growth.
- Creators and developers have an open platform to find opportunities that match their skills and get compensated for their work.
- How to get started as a user
- How to create a bounty as a project
Develop on Starknet Without Writing Cairo
Cairo Coder is now live, a tool that allows you to generate Cairo smart contracts or programs directly within Cursor. These generated components are fully compatible with the entire Starknet development stack and are consistently kept up-to-date. In essence, you can now build on Starknet without needing to write any Cairo code yourself. This tool empowers anyone to develop and launch projects on the network.
Endur Points Program & Airdrop
Endur, the liquid staking protocol on Starknet, has launched its points program. You can now accumulate daily points simply by holding or utilizing xSTRK in various DeFi applications. In addition to the points you may have already earned, early users of Endur will receive an airdrop of all the revenue the protocol has generated so far. You can check your eligibility here.
Ecosystem Quick Bites
- Argent X has rebranded to Ready.
- STRKfarm has changed its name to Troves.
- AAVE, POL, UNI, and ENA can now be traded on Starknet through Layer Akira.
- Blob Arena had its full launch during a major live sports event, reaching an audience of thousands.
- zkLend is shutting down, with both its Money Market and liquid staking services being discontinued.
Alpha Zone
Three new projects went live on Starknet Mainnet this month:
- Atemu, a card game built on Starknet.
- Lutte Arcade, a battler set in the lootverse.
- Karat, a new NFT collection.
Top Content of the Month
Ekubo: The AMM Endgame
This is the most comprehensive article available on Ekubo. It covers everything you need to know in a single place, including what makes it unique, its tokenomics, the team behind it, and its DAO. You can read it here.
BTCfi on Starknet is Real
A complete summary of what you can currently do with Bitcoin on Starknet and what is planned for the future. Find the full recap here.
S-two in Action
Discover how S-two, StarkWare’s next-generation prover, is enabling partners to develop groundbreaking new use cases:
- Giza is using it to make AI actions provable.
- Nexus is leveraging it for provable computation with Rust, C, and RISC-V.
When it comes to performance, S-two has significantly surpassed its competitors. See more here.
Disclaimer: This blog post was written by 0xLyskey,, a community member. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author. This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, investment, or any other form of advice. Readers are solely responsible for their own decisions and are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research. Stay safe and do your own research.
