Despite a weak crypto market, STRK has rallied more than 20% amid rising on-chain activity.

Starknet’s STRK token is showing significant strength, bucking a downtrend in the broader cryptocurrency market. The Ethereum Layer 2 network’s native token has climbed over 20% today, even as large-scale token unlocks for early investors and team members are scheduled to continue.

The token has had a challenging history since its Token Generation Event (TGE) in February 2024, when it launched at approximately $2. While its price has since fallen considerably, trading at $0.17 with a market capitalization of $770 million, it has recently shown strong momentum. Over the past month, STRK has increased by 40%.

This price resilience is notable given the consistent increase in its circulating supply. Since April, 127 million STRK tokens, valued at $21.5 million at current prices, have been unlocked each month. Despite this, the token has managed to gain 16% since April 1, a period when the rest of the market was significantly lower, with Bitcoin trading at $85,000 on that date.

Network Fundamentals Show Strength

Beneath the price action, Starknet’s on-chain metrics are also improving. The network recently announced it had surpassed 900 million staked STRK, which is worth over $150 million and represents about 20% of the token’s circulating supply. This milestone suggests growing confidence and long-term commitment from holders.

The chain’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has also rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter. According to data from L2Beat, Starknet is the sixth-largest Layer 2 network by value secured, and its TVL has surged 200% since hitting a local bottom in July.

Much of this growth can be attributed to the Extended perpetual futures DEX, a decentralized application that now accounts for over 40% of Starknet’s entire TVL. Extended’s own TVL nearly doubled in October alone, climbing from $55 million to $96 million. This boom may be linked to the wider trend of airdrop farming on perpetual trading platforms that gained popularity in September.

STRK’s recent performance also coincides with a strong showing from privacy-focused tokens like Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR). Starknet’s co-founder, Eli Ben-Sasson, was notably involved in the launch of ZEC, adding another layer of interest to the project’s recent activity.