Ethereum’s Layer-2 scaling solution, Starknet, has revealed that a rounding error bug caused a four-hour block outage on April 4. This error led to a reorganization of blocks, resulting in the transaction backlog reaching its full capacity. During this time, new transactions were unable to be processed and were subsequently rejected. Some transactions were also reverted due to changing parameters. However, the backlog was eventually cleared, and normal network operations resumed. The protocol team is now working with relevant parties to prevent any future issues.
This outage had an impact on the price of Starknet, with it dropping to $1.82 before eventually recovering to $1.91. This incident is the latest in a series of challenges for the protocol, following delays in March after the adoption of Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade. Additionally, the parent company of Starknet, StarkWare Industries, experienced a change in leadership when CEO Uri Kolodny stepped down in January due to personal medical challenges. Eli Ben-Sasson took over as the company’s president.
Despite these challenges, Starknet is set to launch its cryptocurrency, $STRK, in April. The protocol recently conducted a major airdrop, distributing 728 million tokens, with over 220 million claimed within hours of its launch. With a market cap of nearly $1.38 billion and a fully diluted valuation of $18.9 billion, Starknet is positioned alongside other prominent layer-2 solutions. The protocol aims to provide low-cost, fast, and scalable transactions on the Ethereum network.
Starknet has set a deadline of June 20 for eligible participants to claim their tokens from the initial round of STRK allocation in February. Additionally, the protocol plans to release a full analysis of the block outage incident at a later date.
