Stacks (STX) Begins Deployment of "Nakamoto" Upgrade

Stacks has commenced its largest-ever protocol upgrade, named Nakamoto, aimed at resolving network congestion issues and expected to be completed by May.

Stacks (STX) Begins Deployment of "Nakamoto" Upgrade. Image: Bitflow

After years of research and testing, the Bitcoin layer-2 project Stacks is currently undergoing its most significant upgrade to date.

This comprehensive update, known as Nakamoto, is a phased process initiated at block height 840,360 and scheduled for completion by the end of May 2024.

Named after the creator of Bitcoin, the Nakamoto upgrade aims to decouple the Stacks block production schedule from Bitcoin. Originally designed to handle transactions more efficiently than Bitcoin (approximately 7 transactions per second), this layer-2 solution has been experiencing network congestion similar to Bitcoin's, prompting the need for this upgrade.

Nakamoto introduces new block generation mechanisms and updates the Proof-of-Transfer consensus mechanism to facilitate this process. Stacks advises regular users to update their wallets, with automated updates available in many cases.

For STX stakers, the upgrade has unlocked their tokens and will automatically restake them once compatible pools are Nakamoto-ready, expected within the next week.

Currently, approximately $1.3 billion USD worth of STX tokens are staked on the network, accounting for about one-third of the circulating supply valued at $4.2 billion USD, making it one of the largest Bitcoin-related pools in terms of capital attracted.

STX prices surged nearly 20% in a single day, propelling it into the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for the first time.

1D chart of STX/USDT pair on Binance as of 10:35 AM on April 23, 2024

Throughout its development journey, Stacks has successfully raised $55.3 million USD from prominent investors in the industry, including Union Square Ventures, Foundation Capital, Lux Capital, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group...