Starknet (STRK) Price Plummets Despite Vitalik Buterin’s $1M Token Grant

• STRK’s price swung between $1.29 and $1.18 in 24 hours. It is now at $1.20, with a 755% spike in trading volume.
• Vitalik Buterin receives $1M in Starknet tokens amid declining STRK market value.
• Starknet introduces Kakarot zkEVM, shifting to Solidity to boost developer adoption.

Starknet’s (STRK) price has been volatile in the last 24 hours, swaying between an intra-day high and low of $1.29 and $1.18, respectively. As of press time, STRK was trading at $1.20, a 2.72% decline from the intra-day high. While the 24-hour trading volume surged by 755% to $324.17M, a 2.72% decline in market capitalization to $1.37B accompanied this dip.

STRK/USD 1-day price chart (source: CoinMarketCap)

Concurrently, despite the strategic move to allocate a $1 million grant in locked Starknet tokens to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Starknet’s token price experienced notable market fluctuations. 

The grant, intended to appreciate Buterin’s influence and contributions to blockchain technology, was expected to bolster market confidence in Starknet. However, the price of Starknet’s native token exhibited a downward trend shortly after the announcement, challenging expectations.

Technological Advancements and Market Outlook

Further adding to the blockchain community’s focus, Starknet announced its advancements in layer-2 solutions for Ethereum with the introduction of a zero-knowledge rollup compatible with the Ethereum infrastructure. This setup, known as a zkEVM, named Kakarot, is currently in a public whitelist phase, allowing selected developers to test new protocol changes before it becomes widely available. Starknet’s decision to adopt a zkEVM aims to make its platform more accessible to developers familiar with Solidity, Ethereum’s predominant programming language.

This shift from using Cairo, a powerful but less popular programming language, to incorporating Solidity through the zkEVM is a strategic move intended to attract more developers to the Starknet ecosystem. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson emphasized this transition as a critical development in Starknet’s growth and maturity.

The introduction of the Kakarot zkEVM has the potential to increase developer engagement with Starknet. Furthermore, StarkWare announced the upcoming release of a new cryptographic prover named “Stwo,” which is expected to contribute significantly to the network’s security and efficiency. 

STRK/USD Technical Analysis

On the STRKUSD 4-hour price chart, the rising wedge pattern, identified by converging trend lines, is visible. The price makes higher highs and higher lows within a narrowing range, a pattern typically considered a bearish pattern since it reflects a weakening upward momentum. This trend suggests that if the prices continue to dip, a breakout below the lower boundary of the wedge could be imminent. 

Key resistance levels prior to the downtrend were observed around $1.28 and $1.25, while the immediate support following the breakout is around $1.20. Should the price breach this support, it could potentially target the next significant support near $1.15.

STRK/USD 4-hour price chart (source: TradingView)

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), hovering around 49.72, aligns with this outlook, showing neutral momentum leaning toward bearish as it descends from higher levels. Additionally, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows the MACD line very close to the signal line with a slightly negative value, further hinting at a bearish sentiment.