The StarkWare Empire: Exploring the Innovative Path of StarkEx and StarkNet

StarkWare is one of the leading companies in the zero-knowledge proof space, founded by Professor Eli Ben-Sasson from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and others. The company is currently valued at $8 billion and has received investment support from well-known institutions such as Vitalik, Paradigm, and Sequoia.

StarkWare's two core products are StarkEx and StarkNet:

StarkEx is an application-specific Layer-2 scaling engine that achieves high-performance, low-cost transaction processing through STARK proof technology. It has been successfully applied in several projects, including dYdX and Immutable.

StarkNet is a general-purpose Layer-2 network that allows developers to deploy smart contracts written in the Cairo language. It provides a decentralized scalable computing platform for the Ethereum ecosystem.

The main difference between the two is that StarkEx focuses on optimizing the performance of specific applications, while StarkNet is a complete Layer-2 solution that supports a rich combination of protocols.

StarkNet is continuously iterating and updating, with the latest v0.11.0 version starting the transition to Cairo 1.0 and enhancing TPS through technologies like the Rust sorter.

In terms of the account system, StarkNet adopts an account abstraction design that allows users to customize account behaviors, enhancing flexibility and security.

The token economic model of StarkNet includes:

• Total supply of 10 billion
• 17% allocated to investors
• 32.9% allocated to core contributors
• 50.1% managed by the foundation, used for community rewards, ecological construction, etc.

Overall, StarkWare is driving the development of Ethereum scaling solutions with its strong technical capabilities and innovative products. In the future, StarkNet is expected to become an important Layer-2 infrastructure, but there is still room for improvement in areas such as ecosystem development and user experience.