Starknet, an Ethereum L2, is planning to add a "parallelization" feature as part of a Q2 upgrade. The addition aims to increase transaction processing efficiency, resulting in better throughput and transaction finality. This comes as a part of Starknet's 2024 roadmap, which includes steps to curtail fees. Notably, Starknet is the largest network in the ZK rollups category of L2 networks, which are designed for quicker settlements based on zero-knowledge cryptography.
Starknet has released plans to settle simultaneously on Bitcoin and Ethereum, becoming a single self-custodial decentralized L2. StarkWare is launching a $1 million fund to spur the development and introduction of OP_CAT, the Bitcoin opcode needed to make a trustless L2 possible. Beyond scaling Bitcoin to thousands of transactions per second, simultaneous settlement would allow for BTC/ETH atomic swaps and private BTC transactions, along with many other possibilities.
Starknet Foundation CEO Diego Oliva has stepped down after leading the organization since March 2023, with James Strudwick taking over as Executive Director.
Starknet's latest upgrade to version 0.13.2 introduces "parallel execution," enabling the Layer 2 chain to process multiple transactions simultaneously. The update, which aims to improve efficiency and reduce confirmation times, also includes a "block packing" feature to optimize block space usage.