Starknet Plans ‘Quantum Leap’ Upgrade Next Week After Testnet Version Deployed

Starknet, a layer 2 to the Ethereum blockchain, said a major upgrade known as “Quantum Leap” is now about a week away from being deployed on its main network.

The upgrade aims to increase the number of transactions per second (TPS) its blockchain can handle, and reduce the time-to-inclusion – the length of time needed to confirm and report a transaction.

Quantum Leap went live on the testnet on Wednesday. If the Starknet community approves of the code change in a governance vote, the upgrade will be deployed to Starknet’s mainnet around July 13, according to a press release from StarkWare, the company behind Starknet.

Although it's unclear how many transactions per second Starknet will process after the upgrade is live, StarkWare claims that the blockchain will be able to handle at least 100 once it’s deployed. The team also says Starknet will become a more competitive alternative to build applications on as congestion is reduced.

Quantum Leap is “all about empowering developers and letting them unleash their creativity without the bounds of computation that they're so accustomed to from other blockchains,” said Eli Ben-Sasson, the co-founder of StarkWare, in an interview with CoinDesk.

The ramp-up is part of Starknet’s roadmap, which includes a series of upgrades aimed at making it more scalable. According to the Starknet roadmap website, the blockchain has other scheduled upgrades planned for third and fourth quarters of 2023, aimed at reducing transaction fees and shortening block intervals.

In addition, Quantum Leap comes as the blockchain prepares to deploy storage proofs to its mainnet, which is a cryptographic feature aimed at alleviating cross-chain bridge hacks.

Read more: ‘Storage Proofs’ Touted as Alternative to Hack-Prone Bridges in Multichain World