Starknet Shinobi Upgrade Goes Live on Mainnet, Laying Groundwork for Native Privacy
Starknet deployed its Shinobi upgrade (v0.14.2) to mainnet around April 21, 2026, adding the protocol-level infrastructure for native privacy. Bitcoin-related products (strkBTC) and STRK20 privacy assets were still described as coming next, and Starknet's TVL has grown 3.2x since Phase 3 launched in Q4 2025.
Tel Aviv, May 1, 2026: Starknet has deployed Shinobi (Starknet v0.14.2) to mainnet, which went live around April 21, 2026, before this brief's May 1 date. The upgrade adds the protocol-level infrastructure for native privacy. The Bitcoin-related products (strkBTC) and STRK20 privacy assets were still described as coming next, not launched.
Starknet's total value locked has grown 3.2x since Phase 3 launched in Q4 2025, reaching $180–220 million, with daily transaction volume of $280–350 million. Shinobi is positioned to address two structural gaps in the Layer 2 ecosystem: the absence of native privacy computation on Ethereum's execution layer, and fragmentation across Bitcoin's $8.2 billion Layer 2 ecosystem.
Native Privacy Infrastructure
Unlike competing Layer 2 protocols that rely on external privacy solutions, Starknet's ZK proof architecture is intended to enable privacy-preserving transactions natively. The Starknet Foundation projects that privacy transactions will represent 15–25% of daily volume at launch, with a target of reaching parity with Ethereum privacy solution averages of 18–22% within six months.
The native approach distinguishes Starknet from Arbitrum and Optimism, both of which currently depend on third-party integrations for confidential transactions.
Bitcoin Products and Institutional Context
Bitcoin-related products (strkBTC) were described as coming next rather than launched. The Foundation's projections of $50–75 million in daily bridge volume within three months are forward-looking. The planned products target a Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem that has reached $8.2 billion in TVL across fragmented solutions including Stacks, Ordinals, and multiple sidechains.
Institutional Bitcoin adoption provides context for the addressable market. Approximately 28% of Bitcoin's circulating supply is held by institutional entities, with Goldman Sachs' recent covered call ETF filing and Tether's self-custodial wallet launch reflecting continued infrastructure buildout around Bitcoin.
Privacy protocol TVL across the broader ecosystem stands at $3.4 billion, distributed across eight or more protocols. Starknet's native implementation is intended to eliminate the multi-hop bridge exposure that currently fragments this market.
Developer Ecosystem and Security
Starknet's $100 million developer grants program, announced in Q1 2026, is actively funding privacy-focused and Bitcoin infrastructure teams building on Cairo. The Foundation has prioritized institutional-grade tooling alongside protocol development, including transaction monitoring and compliance reporting capabilities.
STRK is currently trading at $2.15–2.45, near 52-week highs, with a market capitalization of $4.8–5.4 billion.
About Starknet
Starknet is a Cairo-based Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum using recursive zero-knowledge proofs, developed by StarkWare and governed by the Starknet Foundation. Launched on mainnet in November 2021, Starknet processes transactions off-chain and submits ZK validity proofs to Ethereum, enabling high-throughput computation with Ethereum-grade security guarantees. The protocol's Cairo programming language is purpose-built for ZK proof generation, enabling applications including private computation, verifiable AI inference, and cross-chain interoperability. The Starknet Foundation supports ecosystem development through grants, research, and institutional partnerships across DeFi, custody, and infrastructure verticals.
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