Stacks Nakamoto Upgrade Begins as Latest Halving Marks New Era of Building on Bitcoin

Stacks, the leading Bitcoin layer 2, saw its highly anticipated Nakamoto upgrade roll out begin today. Serving as a scaling solution for the Bitcoin network, Stacks empowers developers to create smart contracts and build applications atop the most valuable, decentralized, secure base layer, bringing new use cases to the Bitcoin economy.

Bitcoin is the most secure, robust, user-ready, and untapped crypto asset – and the market is now awakening to the potential of Bitcoin as the foundational layer for DeFi and more. The rise of Bitcoin layer 2 solutions empowers developers to build a plethora of new applications and solutions for borrowing and lending, swapping assets, trading Ordinals and NFTs, and more, effectively expanding Bitcoin's utility.

The advancements made by layer 2 solutions, exemplified by the Stacks Nakamoto upgrade, will significantly contribute to this resurgence. Bitcoin, when coupled with layer 2 solutions like Stacks, fosters an economic ecosystem around BTC through apps and smart contracts, ultimately unlocking over $1T in dormant capital. In Bitcoin's "season 2," we witness the separation of BTC, the asset from Bitcoin, the infrastructure.

“We’re in the midst of a big moment that’s all about the return of builders to Bitcoin,” says Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Stacks. “Innovations like Ordinals, Runes, and various layers have made Bitcoin fun again for developers and highlighted the massive opportunity to bring new use cases to the largest crypto economy. The Nakamoto upgrade of Stacks this week is emblematic of the wider progression for the Bitcoin ecosystem as it scales rapidly beyond a store of value and into a secure base layer for experimentation and economic growth.”

When the Nakamoto release finishes rolling out over the next month, users can expect faster, more cost-effective transactions as well as transactions that are as irreversible as Bitcoin’s. The Nakamoto upgrade will usher in fast (5-second) blocks, a significant improvement over the current 10-30 minute blocks tied to Bitcoin’s block times. This has the potential to ease congestion on Bitcoin by facilitating faster, cheaper transactions on the L2 and better supports a growing number of Bitcoin DeFi applications.

This release solidifies Stacks' position as a dependable network for developers leveraging smart contracts on Bitcoin, making it faster, more secure, and enhancing the overall user experience. Stacks, building off years of experience in the Bitcoin ecosystem, is uniquely positioned to provide layer 2 capabilities for developers, institutions, and others hoping to access the Bitcoin economy.

About Stacks

Stacks (https://www.stacks.co/) is a Bitcoin L2 that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications to use Bitcoin as a secure base layer. The 2024 Nakamoto release, to be followed by the sBTC release, brings faster speeds and transactions backed by 100% Bitcoin finality. ‍Stacks is the current leading Bitcoin L2 by developer traction and market cap and is poised to help unlock Bitcoin and its $1T in passive capital as a fully programmable, productive asset.

The Stacks (STX) token, used as gas on the L2, was the first to undergo an SEC-qualified sale in the United States. The project is explicitly decentralized with the mainnet launch in 2021. In the Stacks ecosystem, there are currently 30+ contributing entities including a non-profit Stacks Foundation, a developer tooling company Hiro, Xverse, Trust Machines, Mechanism, Bitcoin L2 Labs, ALEX, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, and more.