Starknet to Quadruple TPS and Cut Fees by 5x in 3 Months, Aiming to Compete with Solana

StarkWare is set to significantly enhance the performance of its Ethereum layer 2 solution, Starknet, with a four-fold increase in transaction speed and a five-fold reduction in fees over the next three months. These upgrades could position Starknet as a strong competitor to high-performance blockchains like Solana.

In an interview at DevCon 2024 in Bangkok, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson explained that the improvements will primarily come from enhanced “compilation and faster execution” on Cairo, Starknet’s native smart contract language. As a result, Starknet is expected to surpass 1,000 transactions per second (TPS), a milestone that would put it on par with Solana, which typically processes between 800 and 1,050 TPS, according to data from Solana Compass.

Ben Sasson emphasized that reducing transaction fees is also a key priority, especially with the anticipated surge in blockchain activity and the accompanying rise in gas and block prices. Starknet has already achieved notable performance, with its network averaging a record 129 TPS on October 29, and even reaching a peak of 857 TPS during a controlled stress test.

Currently, Starknet's fees are among the lowest in the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, with a median cost of $0.002 per transaction. Over the past 30 days, Starknet has been the third-cheapest Ethereum layer 2 network, behind Optimism and Blast, both of which have fees ranging from $0.0013 to $0.002. In comparison, Solana’s transaction fees have fluctuated between $0.001 and $0.11 during the same period, making Starknet an appealing alternative for users looking for low-cost transactions.

Beyond performance enhancements, StarkWare is also working on a groundbreaking upgrade: the OP_CAT proposal. This upgrade would make Starknet the first Layer 2 solution to settle natively on both Bitcoin and Ethereum. Ben Sasson expects this feature to be live within the next 12 months.

With these improvements, Starknet is poised to become a major player in blockchain space, competing with established networks like Solana while continuing to provide low fees and high throughput.