The Layer 2 wars have started, and StarkNET is another zk-rollup Layer 2 to keep an eye out on.
What’s interesting about StarkNET is that it is not natively EVM-compatible, so bridging to this network will be different from the likes of zkSync Era and Polygon’s zkEVM.
If you prefer a video guide, you can check it out here:
Contents
Do this first: Get a StarkNET wallet
Before you can bridge your funds over to StarkNET, you will need to create a wallet that supports this network, such as Braavos or Argent X.
I’ve personally created my StarkNET wallet with Argent X, but I don’t think there’s any difference between the 2 wallets.
Even though your wallet address starts with the prefix ‘0x’, it’s actually not EVM-compatible!
Platform #1: StarkGATE (StarkNET’s official bridge)
StarkNET has its own bridge, but the main drawback is that it only allows you to bridge funds from the Ethereum mainnet to StarkNET.
The fees on the Ethereum mainnet can be very expensive, with each transaction costing about $7 USD!
I personally prefer to bridge my funds from other networks like Polygon, where the gas fees are much cheaper.
Platform #2: Orbiter Finance
This is my platform of choice because it allows me to bridge my ETH from Polygon to StarkNET.
The gas fees are way cheaper, and both the token approval and bridging transaction only cost 1 cent each!
Orbiter Finance charges you around 0.0012 ETH for each bridging transaction, wich is roughly 2 USD.
Platform #3: Layerswap
If you have funds on a centralised exchange like Binance or KuCoin, you can consider using Layerswap instead.
You can send over USDC from the exchange to Layerswap’s address, and they will transfer the USDC to your StarkNET wallet.
The fees are around 2 USDC for this transaction.
Layerswap also provides Cross-Chain transactions, but the limitation is that it does not support the Polygon network, so the cheaper networks would be either Arbitrum or Optimism.
Conclusion
Once you have your funds on StarkNET, you can try out some of the decentralised applications (DApps) that are on the network, as this could potentially help you to qualify for the airdrop!
Do you find it overwhelming to track all of the different airdrops that are available?
I’ve created an airdrop tracker of all the different networks and projects that I’m keeping an eye on,
and you can gain access to it by signing up for my Substack newsletter! The link to this Notion site will be included in the welcome email.
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