Stacks

Stacks is a Bitcoin Layer-2 (L2) protocol that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to utilize Bitcoin as a secure base layer. The Nakamoto upgrade for Stacks aims to bring faster transactions, full Bitcoin finality, and pave the way for sBTC, a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset enabling decentralized movement of BTC between Bitcoin L1 and Bitcoin L2. The consensus mechanism, Proof of Transfer (PoX), connects Bitcoin and Stacks by recycling Bitcoin’s Proof of Work. Clarity, a decidable smart contract language designed for the Stacks blockchain, optimizes for predictability and security, ensuring that Stacks transactions settle to Bitcoin and become as irreversible as Bitcoin’s after the Nakamoto upgrade. The Stacks ecosystem is decentralized, with many independent entities contributing to the protocol and applications. The Stacks Foundation supports developers, designers, and community leaders through various grants. The Hiro Platform empowers developers to build and deploy smart contracts on Stacks, while microblocks enable faster transactions by performing state transitions between anchor blocks. The native cryptocurrency of the Stacks network, STX, is used for smart contract execution and transaction processing. Stacking involves locking STX tokens to support the network’s security and consensus, earning Bitcoin as a reward. The ecosystem includes a variety of applications, tools, community groups, and other members. The STX20 protocol introduces a novel approach to creating and sharing digital artifacts on the Stacks blockchain. The Stacks Foundation has awarded millions in grants for open-source tools, education, and core protocol development. The Bitcoin Frontier Fund invests in teams building new use cases for Bitcoin, offering up to $50K in funding. The ALEX Launchpad is a lottery-based token launch platform using a hybrid off-chain/on-chain model. The Stacks blockchain supports dApps that run on the Stacks blockchain instead of a centralized server, with a variety of wallets, custody providers, and Stacking solutions available for STX holders. The Stacks Foundation is dedicated to supporting builders on a mission to activate the Bitcoin economy.