StarkWare, the Israel-based developer of zero-knowledge proof technology and operator of the Ethereum Layer-2 network Starknet, is downsizing its workforce and reorganizing into two independent business units to accelerate revenue generation and reduce dependencies on external parties.
StarkWare Cuts Jobs, Splits into Two Units as Starknet Revenue Plunges 99%
13 April 2026 - 16:00 CEST
Sandmark was privy to a transcript of the internal all-hands meeting held at 07:00UTC on 13 Apr, in which co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson outlined the changes. These details have not been made public by the company. StarkWare, which has raised around $262mn and previously reached an $8bn valuation, faces sharp pressure as Starknet's monthly sequencer fee revenue has collapsed more than 99% from a late-2023 peak of nearly $6mn to roughly $48,000 in early April 2026, amid broader fee compression across Ethereum Layer-2 networks. The network's total value locked (TVL) remains above $200mn.
New revenue-focused units
The company will create two semi-autonomous units. A new applications unit, tasked with building revenue-generating products that leverage its proprietary stack, will be led by Chief Product Officer Avihu Levy as general manager. Levy recently proposed Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB), a scheme that could protect legacy Bitcoin transactions from future quantum computing threats without requiring a soft fork or protocol changes. It replaces certain signature puzzles with hash-based alternatives, though it involves higher offchain GPU compute costs for the sender of roughly $75 to $150 per transaction.
The revamped Starknet development unit will be headed by Head of Product Tom Brand as general manager. Both units will operate with greater independence, eventually gaining their own engineering, product, business development and go-to-market resources.
StarkWare plans to shift from "doing many things well" to excelling in high-potential areas unique to its Cairo, Sierra and quantum-secure-by-design STARK cryptography stack. The move includes taking fuller ownership of the application layer to minimize reliance on external Layer-1 chains and third-party application teams.
Return to startup mindset
Ben-Sasson told staff the company must move faster in smaller teams, experiment rapidly and iterate toward product-market fit, describing the shift as returning to "startup mode" with accumulated experience. He cited a leadership vacuum across blockchain, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, as both a challenge and an opportunity for StarkWare to lead the industry's next phase.
"Our new strategy requires that we move fast, and we're simply and sadly too big for that. So we're making a tough but responsible decision, the only decision we can, which is to become smaller so that we can be more flexible," Ben-Sasson said.
Additional changes include Kinetic stepping in as VP of Starknet engineering reporting to Brand, Giddy assuming the role of chief architect reporting to Ben-Sasson, and the CFO overseeing finance, HR, security and IT. COO Oren has requested to leave and will depart by the end of April.
Ben-Sasson acknowledged the difficulty of parting with talented colleagues and pledged support beyond legal requirements in many jurisdictions. Affected staff will receive individual meetings shortly after the announcement, with management available for discussions.
StarkWare did not disclose the exact number of job cuts. This latest round follows similar efficiency measures across crypto, including OP Labs' reduction of about 20 roles in March.
The Block was the first to report on the restructuring.
