• STRK’s trading volume surged to $38.31 million, indicating increased demand and investor confidence.

• Starknet intends to implement staking to improve its network by utilizing community proposals.

The past week has seen a notable increase in the values of Layer 2 (L2) tokens, with leading tokens. Starknet’s native token, STRK, has also followed this upward trend, recording a 6% price growth during the same period and trading at $0.56 as of this writing.

Recently, the price of STRK has rallied, and at the same time, the trading volume on Starknet has gone up tremendously. STRK’s daily trading volume was at $38. 31 million on the 11th of July, which was a 15% rise from the previous day’s $33 million. This increase in the number of STRK transactions shows increased usage and, therefore, demand, which could be attributed to increased trading activity and/or investors in the market.

An increase in the transaction volume is a positive sign that shows the market’s trust in the asset. If the price is rising alongside the transaction volume, this is an indication of a strong bullish trend as more investors are buying the asset, causing the price to rise.

Futures Market Heats Up with Rising Open Interest 

With the increase in the transaction volume, the price surge of STRK has also contributed to the increased trading in the derivatives market. In the last week, the futures open interest for STRK was $51. 35 million, which is a 10% rise. Open interest is the total number of futures contracts that have been written but not yet closed out. This parameter implies the number of new positions being opened by the traders; its rise is a positive signal for the asset.

STRK’s price rise, high trading volume, and increasing futures open interest indicate a positive market sentiment towards the token. This positive momentum has been continuing since July 5th, when the price of STRK reached its lowest point at $0. 46. Since then, the token has gained more than 19% in value, which shows investors’ confidence. 

The total value locked (TVL) in Starknet soared at the start of 2024, from $145 million in January to $1. 7 billion in March, as per L2Beat. However, the TVL has since dropped by more than half, now standing at $694 million. This decline puts Starknet in the ninth position regarding Layer 2 solutions, with Arbitrum and Base being the market leaders at $15 billion and $6. 6 billion, respectively.  

Staking Implementation Plan on Starknet

Additionally, StarkWare has submitted a Starknet Improvement Proposal (SNIP) to add staking to Ethereum Layer 2, as noted by CEO Eli Ben-Sasson. If the Starknet community approves the proposal, staking will be phased in. The first stage will entail stakers engaging with Starknet and engaging with the staking contracts.

In a recent statement, Starknet plans to be one of the first Layer 2 solutions to integrate staking, which demonstrates the commitment to the token-based network owned by the community. In a statement, Starknet stated that this proposal reflects the protocol’s goal of improving its network through community-driven operations. For the first phase of staking, neither StarkWare nor the Starknet Foundation will take any staking rewards.