Starknet CEO Eli Ben-Sasson Declares STRK as "Best Leveraged Bet on Bitcoin" Amidst Integration Push

Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO and co-founder of StarkWare, the company behind the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Starknet, has publicly asserted that the STRK token represents the "best leveraged bet on Bitcoin." This statement, highlighted by a recent tweet from "pscott.eth ⚡️| ✨," underscores Starknet's strategic pivot towards deeper integration with the Bitcoin ecosystem.

The tweet, which states, "> I know this guy who keeps talking about how STRK is a leveraged bet on BTC (@EliBenSasson) I guess this guy is right," draws attention to Ben-Sasson's view on Starknet's future positioning. Starknet, known for its Zero-Knowledge Rollup technology utilizing STARK proofs, is primarily an Ethereum L2, but its developers are actively working to bridge the two largest blockchain networks.

StarkWare's ambition is to evolve Starknet into Bitcoin's execution layer, aiming to significantly enhance Bitcoin's transaction throughput from 13 transactions per second to thousands. This initiative seeks to unlock new functionalities for Bitcoin, including staking, lending, and leveraged trading, by enabling smart contract capabilities on the network. A key aspect of this strategy involves supporting proposals like OP_CAT, an opcode that could enable greater programmability on Bitcoin.

The move to integrate with Bitcoin is driven by a belief that much of Bitcoin's value currently remains static, constrained by the network's original design. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also voiced support for a robust Bitcoin Layer 2 solution, emphasizing the value in enabling trustless asset flow between the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. While STRK's current correlation with BTC is noted as moderate (around 0.62), Ben-Sasson's declaration points to a significant strategic alignment for future growth.

The STRK token, which launched in February 2024, has experienced considerable price volatility, trading recently around $0.23 to $0.36 after an initial surge to $4.00. Despite a recent downtrend, the long-term vision articulated by Ben-Sasson positions STRK as a key player in the evolving landscape of cross-chain interoperability and Bitcoin's expansion into decentralized finance (DeFi).