Bitcoin News Today: Starknet Bridges Bitcoin Liquidity to Ethereum Ecosystem, Sparking 30% Surge

Starknet (STRK) has surged 30% in weekly gains, reaching $0.1777, its strongest performance since the Mainnet launch in February 2025. The rally, driven by Bitcoin's bullish momentum and new staking features, has propelled STRK's market capitalization to $796 million, securing a spot in the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Trading volume for the token has spiked over 400% to $305 million, with the STRK/USDT pair dominating activity on exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKXtitle4^[4]. On-chain data reveals increased active wallets and transactions, signaling utility-driven demand rather than speculative tradingtitle4^[4]. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains stable at 65, with key support at $0.15 and resistance at $0.20title4^[4].

Bitcoin's recent record high of $126,198 has acted as a catalyst for altcoins, particularly those bridging BTC liquidity to Ethereum scaling solutions. Starknet's integration of Bitcoin staking, launched in mid-September, allows BTC holders to stake wrapped assets like WBTC to earn STRK rewardstitle4^[4]. This feature has attracted institutional interest, bolstered by Starknet's decentralized sequencers and fee-burning mechanismstitle4^[4]. Analysts note that the expansion of Bitcoin's ecosystem, including record inflows into BTC ETFs, could further benefit STRK as uncertainty in U.S. economic and political conditions persiststitle4^[4].

Technical analysis highlights a bullish reversal narrative for STRK, with the token breaking out of a multi-month descending triangle pattern. Short-term resistance at $0.20 remains critical; a breach could open the door to $0.35 and $0.80 targetstitle4^[4]. Institutional adoption has also accelerated, with the Starknet Foundation allocating 100 million STRK (~$18 million) to incentivize BTCFi activity across lending, borrowing, and liquidity protocolstitle6^[6]. Early traction is evident in total value locked (TVL), which has risen to $250.6 million, led by protocols like Vesu and Extendedtitle6^[6].

Market dynamics suggest continued optimism if broader crypto conditions remain favorable. Re7 Capital, a $1 billion crypto asset manager, has launched a Bitcoin-denominated yield fund on Starknet, offering tokenized mRe7BTC shares to retail investorstitle6^[6]. Analysts at 21Shares and Amberdata have emphasized the potential for a "positive liquidity impulse" as delayed U.S. economic reports and Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations create favorable macro conditionstitle2^[2]. Deribit-listed BTC options, which appear undervalued due to steep contango in implied volatility, are also seen as a strategic play for hedging against volatilitytitle2^[2].

While short-term volatility remains a risk, long-term fundamentals for STRK appear robust. The token's role in bridging Bitcoin's $2.5 trillion market cap to DeFi has positioned it as a key player in the BTCFi spacetitle6^[6]. However, analysts caution that a drop below $0.15 could invalidate the recent rally, potentially leading to a retest of the $0.12 leveltitle6^[6]. With Bitcoin eyeing $135,000 per Standard Chartered forecasts, Starknet's trajectory could mirror broader market trends, with institutional adoption and regulatory clarity playing pivotal roles in sustaining momentumtitle4^[4].