StarkWare is cutting staff and restructuring its business as it pivots toward building revenue generating products following a sharp drop in Starknet earnings.
Key Takeaways
- StarkWare is laying off employees and reorganizing into two business units to improve efficiency.
- Starknet revenue has dropped by more than 99 percent, forcing a strategic shift.
- The company is moving from infrastructure focus to building its own revenue generating products.
- The restructuring reflects a broader trend of layoffs and tightening strategy across crypto firms.
What Happened?
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson announced layoffs and a company wide restructuring during an internal meeting, outlining a shift toward revenue focused products. The company will split into two units while reducing headcount to operate in what leadership described as a more agile startup mode.
The move comes as Starknet revenue has fallen sharply from its peak, pushing the firm to rethink its long term strategy and focus on monetization.
I am sharing here a message I shared with the StarkWare team following things I said at an All Hands meeting:
— Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) April 13, 2026
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StarkWare is adapting its strategy, with a clear goal – to lead blockchain.
So far, we’ve secured our position as technology leaders: we built the best ZK…
Starknet Revenue Collapse Forces Strategic Reset
StarkWare decision comes after a dramatic decline in revenue from its flagship Layer 2 network, Starknet. Monthly revenue that once reached nearly 6 million dollars in late 2023 has dropped to roughly 48 thousand dollars in April 2026, based on DefiLlama data.
This steep decline is partly tied to broader industry changes. The Ethereum EIP 4844 upgrade significantly reduced Layer 2 transaction fees, impacting revenue across competing networks.
Despite the drop in revenue, Starknet still maintains over 200 million dollars in total value locked, showing that user activity and capital presence remain relatively stable.
CEO Eli Ben Sasson acknowledged the challenge directly, telling employees the company must now take its technological strength and turn it into “meaningful revenue” and “meaningful usage.”
Two New Business Units to Drive Growth
As part of the restructuring, StarkWare will split into two focused divisions:
- A revenue driven Applications unit, led by Avihu Levy, which will build products on top of StarkWare technology.
- A Starknet development unit, led by Tom Brand, focused on advancing the core network.
The Applications unit is expected to play a key role in generating income by developing products that rely entirely on StarkWare proprietary stack, including Cairo and its cryptographic systems.
Levy recent work on a quantum safe Bitcoin method highlights the type of innovation the company may pursue. His proposal introduces quantum resistant transactions without requiring protocol changes, though it comes with higher costs and technical complexity.
Leaner Structure and Leadership Changes
The restructuring also includes leadership changes aimed at streamlining operations:
- Ran Grinshtein will expand oversight to include finance, HR, security, and IT.
- Gideon Kaempfer will move into a chief architect role.
- Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos will continue leading legal.
- COO Oren Katz is set to leave by the end of April.
Employees affected by layoffs will be offered severance packages, with the company stating support will go beyond legal requirements in many regions.
Ben Sasson emphasized that reducing headcount is necessary to increase flexibility and speed, allowing the company to focus on fewer initiatives with higher impact.
Crypto Industry Faces Wider Layoffs
StarkWare move is part of a broader trend across the crypto sector, where companies are cutting costs and narrowing focus to survive market pressures.
Recent examples include:
- Messari, which reduced staff while shifting toward AI driven research tools.
- Algorand Foundation, which cut 25 percent of its workforce amid macro uncertainty.
- Crypto.com, which reduced headcount by 12 percent as it prioritized AI integration.
These moves highlight a growing emphasis on efficiency, clearer product market fit, and sustainable revenue models across the industry.
Focus on Products That Others Cannot Build
Looking ahead, StarkWare plans to concentrate on building products that leverage its unique strengths and cannot be easily replicated by competitors.
“We’re going to shift from doing many things well to doing fewer things excellently,” Ben Sasson said, stressing the importance of focusing on high value opportunities.
The company also aims to reduce reliance on external Layer 1 blockchains and third party teams by taking full ownership of its technology stack.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
From my perspective, this is a necessary reality check for StarkWare and the broader crypto industry. For years, many companies focused heavily on infrastructure, assuming adoption and revenue would naturally follow. That model is now being tested.
I believe StarkWare is making the right move by shifting toward real products and actual revenue generation. In my experience, strong technology alone is never enough. It must solve real problems that users are willing to pay for.
However, the scale of Starknet revenue decline is hard to ignore. A drop of this magnitude shows how fragile Layer 2 economics can be when external factors like protocol upgrades change the game overnight.
If StarkWare succeeds, it could become a model for how crypto companies transition from innovation to profitability. If not, it may highlight deeper challenges in turning blockchain technology into sustainable businesses.
