Quick answer: The STRK price rally took Starknet to about $0.11 on Oct. 11, 2026, up 56% in 24 hours and 107% in a week (CoinGecko). Talk of a move to its own quantum-resistant layer 1 started it, and futures traders have amplified it. A 127 million STRK unlock is due on Oct. 15.
The STRK price rally pushed Starknet’s token to about $0.11 on Sunday, a 56% gain in 24 hours and more than double its level a week ago. The move started with talk of a quantum-resistant layer 1, but futures traders are now doing most of the heavy lifting.
At 07:54 UTC on Oct. 11, 2026, STRK traded at $0.1106, according to CoinGecko. That is up 106.7% over seven days and 283.7% over 30 days. Even so, the token is still about 97.5% below its $4.41 record from February 2024.
What happened to the STRK price?
The run began on Oct. 8. At Token2049, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said Starknet is weighing a move from Ethereum layer 2 to an independent layer 1, aiming for full quantum resistance by 2027. We covered that proposal on Oct. 9, when STRK first reached about $0.07, per Crypto Briefing.
The second leg came late Saturday. TokenPost reported STRK at $0.1022 at 00:59 UTC on Oct. 11, up 40.4% in a day. Then it kept going. CoinGecko shows a 24-hour range of $0.069 to $0.122, so the token briefly added about 76% from low to high.
Meanwhile, the wider market barely moved. Bitcoin sat at $82,945 and ether at $2,499.74, both up only about 0.3% on the day.
Why the STRK price rally looks driven by leverage
The clearest signal is in derivatives. Binance data shows open interest on the STRKUSDT perpetual rose from 243.4 million STRK (about $11.9 million) on Oct. 8 to 453.2 million STRK (about $50 million) by 07:00 UTC on Oct. 11. In other words, the number of open contracts rose 86%, and their dollar value roughly quadrupled.
Bybit showed another $42.3 million in open interest and OKX about $20.8 million at the same time. That puts more than $110 million of leveraged bets on just three venues.
However, the crowd is not all betting higher. Binance funding turned slightly negative at the 00:00 and 04:00 UTC settlements on Sunday. In addition, only 43% of Binance accounts trading STRK were net long at 07:00 UTC. Many traders are therefore shorting the move. That can fuel further short squeezes, but it also shows deep doubt about the rally.
Spot activity is heavy as well. CoinGecko lists $846 million in 24-hour volume against a market cap of $822 million. When a token trades more than its full value in a day, the price can swing hard in both directions.
Is the STRK price rally backed by network use?
Only partly. DefiLlama data shows daily DEX volume on Starknet jumped from about $12.6 million on Oct. 7 to $41.4 million on Oct. 10. So more traders are using the chain itself.
Still, total value locked has barely moved. It stood near $163 million on Oct. 8 and about $167 million on Oct. 11. New money is chasing the token, but it is not yet parking capital in Starknet apps. For context on that gap, see our guide to DeFi risks.
Also, the layer 1 plan is only an idea for now. Crypto Briefing notes that any switch would need governance approval, new validator design and a plan for security during the move. No formal proposal has been published so far.
The Oct. 15 STRK unlock: what to watch next
The next supply test arrives on Thursday. Under the official STRK schedule, up to 127 million tokens unlock for investors and early contributors on the 15th of each month until March 15, 2027.
At Sunday’s price, that tranche is worth about $14 million. That equals about 1.7% of the 7.42 billion STRK in circulation, and less than 2% of one day’s trading at current volume, as CryptoTicker also calculated earlier this week. Unlocked tokens are not always sold. Even so, recipients now sit on large paper gains, which raises the odds that some of them take profit.
Here is what we will track this week:
- Whether Binance open interest keeps rising, or drops sharply in a wave of liquidations.
- Whether funding stays negative, which would keep short-squeeze risk high.
- Wallet flows to exchanges around the Oct. 15 unlock.
- Any formal governance proposal for the layer 1 move.
Small caps have run like this before. Our look at the ATOM rebound shows how quickly altcoin rallies can stall once leverage builds up. Sentiment gauges such as the Fear and Greed Index can help you judge how stretched the market is.
STRK price rally FAQ
Why is STRK going up?
Starknet is weighing a move from Ethereum layer 2 to its own quantum-resistant layer 1 by 2027. That story lit the fuse on Oct. 8. Since then, a sharp rise in futures open interest and heavy spot volume have pushed STRK above $0.11.
When is the next STRK token unlock?
The next tranche unlocks on Oct. 15, 2026. Up to 127 million STRK, or 1.27% of total supply, goes to investors and early contributors, per Starknet’s documentation. Monthly unlocks continue until March 15, 2027.
Is Starknet leaving Ethereum?
Not yet. StarkWare says it is considering the switch, but no governance vote has taken place and no launch date is set. Starknet still settles on Ethereum today.
How far is STRK from its all-time high?
STRK hit $4.41 in February 2024. At $0.1106 on Oct. 11, 2026, it trades about 97.5% below that peak, per CoinGecko.
This article is for information only. Not financial advice; DYOR.
Sources
- Starknet (STRK) price data, CoinGecko
- STRK token unlock schedule, Starknet docs
- STRK rallies as Starknet weighs a layer 1 move, Crypto Briefing
- STRK rises 40.4% in 24 hours, TokenPost
- Starknet chain data, DefiLlama
- Starknet STRK October 15 unlock, CryptoTicker
- STRKUSDT open interest and funding, Binance Futures
