Which projects and companies are building on StarkNet and why do they choose it? Do we have any ethnically Jewish or pro Israel actors?, figures, OR Companies ?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
StarkNet’s ecosystem exploded to ~193 user-facing projects by Nov 2024, a 168% year‑over‑year rise driven by grants, infrastructure work and a gaming boom; the network is pressing decentralization (170M+ STRK staked, 63k delegators, 106 validators) and Bitcoin/USDC integrations in 2025–2026 that attract builders [1] [2] [3]. StarkWare — the Israeli-origin team behind StarkNet — and related Israeli entities appear repeatedly in reporting, but available sources do not list an itemized roster of “ethnically Jewish or pro‑Israel actors” building on StarkNet [4] [5] [6].
1. Why builders choose StarkNet: speed, ZK proofs, and grants
Developers cite StarkNet’s STARK-based validity rollup as the technical reason to build: it compresses off‑chain transactions into proofs that settle on Ethereum, yielding higher throughput and lower fees while preserving Ethereum security [7] [5]. The StarkNet Foundation’s grants and developer programs are explicitly credited with fueling the 168% growth in user‑centric projects from Nov 2023 to Nov 2024, and StarkNet’s roadmap (parallel execution, block packing, native account abstraction) is presented as improving UX and throughput that further attract gaming, DeFi and privacy builders [1] [8] [2].
2. Who is building there: gaming, DeFi, wallets and infra
Ecosystem mappings and StarkNet recaps emphasize gaming as the fastest growing category — projects rose from 4 to 51 gaming teams in a year — and list major integrations and infrastructure improvements (native USDC, CCTP v2, LayerZero/Stargate) that open DeFi and payments use cases; prominent on‑chain primitives such as Ekubo (AMM) and other BTCFi-focused protocols are named in coverage [1] [9] [3] [10]. StarkNet’s tooling (Cairo language, provers like Stwo/S‑two) and open‑source moves also draw infra teams and wallets [11] [12] [2].
3. The Israel connection: StarkWare, founders and geography
Multiple sources identify StarkWare (the company that developed StarkNet’s tech) as Israel‑based and founded by academics including Eli Ben‑Sasson; reporting repeatedly links StarkWare’s origins in Netanya/Israel to StarkNet’s technical lineage and leadership [4] [5] [13]. Jewish and Israeli media outlets have covered StarkWare’s fundraising and open‑sourcing moves, reflecting both local pride and business reporting [6] [14].
4. Does StarkNet host “ethnically Jewish” or “pro‑Israel” actors? What the sources say
Reporting documents StarkWare’s Israeli identity and founders [4] [5]. However, available sources do not provide a compiled list of projects, teams, or individual actors on StarkNet identified by ethnicity or political stance; they do not enumerate “ethnically Jewish” or “pro‑Israel” companies beyond StarkWare itself (not found in current reporting). Journalistic norms and the sources emphasize companies, grants and product integrations rather than ethnicity or political posture [1] [2].
5. Conflicting perspectives and implicit agendas
StarkNet materials themselves present rapid growth, decentralization milestones and Bitcoin/USDC integrations as unalloyed positives [1] [8]. Independent outlets highlight the same tech upgrades (Stwo/S‑two prover) and ecosystem momentum but also note outages and operational risks during upgrades [15] [12]. Coverage connecting StarkNet to Israel ranges from neutral business profiles to hometown pride; that coverage can implicitly promote Israel’s tech ecosystem, which reporters and readers should treat as a contextual factor, not a proof of geopolitical alignment [6] [14].
6. What this means for readers and researchers
If you are vetting projects on StarkNet, rely on ecosystem reports, official recaps and independent coverage to assess tech, liquidity and integrations (native USDC, CCTP, LayerZero/Stargate) — these are the concrete signals reporters cite that predict survivability and traction [3] [9] [10]. If your question is about ethnic or political affiliations of teams, available reporting does not supply systematic data; further research would require direct team bios, public statements, or a primary data pull from project websites and registries (not found in current reporting).
Limitations: this article uses only the supplied sources and therefore cannot verify team‑level ethnic identities or political leanings; it reports on company origin, ecosystem growth metrics, technical reasons builders choose StarkNet, and the fact that StarkWare is Israeli as shown in multiple sources [4] [5] [1] [2].