StarkWare, an Israeli-based company working to scale Ethereum (ETH), has released the testnet for its latest layer-2 solution, Starknet v12.0. The new version focuses on improving performance and user experience, with a significant 10x increase in throughput achieved through the implementation of the Sequencer in Rust. 

Starknet Upgrade Signals Boost for Ethereum’s 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 status for transactions. A new syscall has also been introduced to retrieve past block hashes easily. 

Furthermore, the new version of Starknet supports a new Cairo syntax that focuses on safety. 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 undergo a community vote, ensuring widespread participation and input. The community will have the opportunity to shape the future of Starknet, and the upgrade protocol for breaking changes includes a six-month window in which contracts compiled with the older compiler version (v1.1.0) will still be accepted.

Starknet’s vision is to achieve substantial scalability in scale and cost, with the next priority being reducing transaction costs. The long-term goal is to provide a scalable, flexible, cost-effective infrastructure for decentralized applications.

The upcoming vote for Starknet Alpha V0.12.0 will allow the community to examine and test the upgraded version before approving it for Mainnet deployment. Everyone is invited to participate in the proposal and vote on whether to upgrade Starknet Mainnet accordingly.

Starknet empowers developers to code solutions that make a difference, and the new version allows developers to start their Cairo development journey. With the Cairo docs, Cairo Basecamp, and tutorials, developers can stay up to date with all version updates by signing up for 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 enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for decentralized applications.

Ethereum Prices Surge, But Network Activity Shows No Significant Boost

According to recent data from Glassnode, despite the recent rise in Ethereum prices, network activity has not experienced a significant boost, with gas prices remaining relatively low. This contrasts the situation during the Shanghai upgrade in April, which preceded a similar rally in ETH markets, where gas prices rose by 78%.

Gas prices on the Ethereum network measure the cost of executing smart contracts and transactions. When demand for transaction processing exceeds the available network capacity, gas prices rise as users compete to process their transactions more quickly. This often happens during high network activity periods, such as upgrades and market rallies.

However, the recent rally in Ethereum prices does not seem to have led to a significant increase in network activity, as gas prices have remained relatively stable. 

This could be due to several factors, such as that the current rally is driven more by institutional investors and DeFi protocols rather than individual users. Additionally, there may be more network capacity available now than during the Shanghai upgrade, which could be helping to keep gas prices in check.

Despite the low gas prices, there are still signs of growth and development within the Ethereum ecosystem. The recent release of the Starknet v12.0 testnet by StarkWare, for example, is a significant milestone for Ethereum, as it promises to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for decentralized applications built on the network.

ETH is trading at $1,900, following the steps of Bitcoin, and has decreased by 1.8% in the last 24 hours.