ӿ Stacks brings apps and smart contracts to Bitcoin
Updated: January 2, 2021, 6:39 PM
Note: We’re in the process of focusing the brand on‘Stacks’, but you will see historically the project is referred to as Blockstack and it appears in many of the resources and articles linked as such. We very much appreciate you being sure to refer to the project and asset as‘Stacks’, only using Blockstack in a historical context.
Look out for the purple 🙂
Quick hits:
Stacks 2.0 is bringing apps and smart contracts to Bitcoin, setting the stage for DeFi and other typically Ethereum-based activity to move to Bitcoin, while positioning Bitcoin as the foundation for a better internet that’s owned by its users.
Stacks 2.0 will enable a new way for users to earn BTC(Stacking)
STX makes BTC more valuable by enabling innovation on the network
The Stacks 2.0 launch, currently anticipated on January 14, 2021, is closer to the launch of a whole new project, than an upgrade from Stacks 1.0. Stacks 2.0 is our master design and will build on the success of Stacks 1.0, which currently has over 400 apps on the network.
The Stacks ecosystem is a collection of independent entities, developers, and community members working to build a user-owned internet on Bitcoin. The internet as we know it is broken. We’re working to build a better one and believe it will rise on blockchains, specifically Bitcoin. Stacks gives developers the tools to innovate and build value for users upon Bitcoin, the most secure and proven blockchain in the world, in ways previously not possible.
Project History
Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea founded what would eventually become the Stacks project in 2013 at the Princeton computer science department to solve the underlying problems of current web and mobile apps. Muneeb’s Ph.D. thesis was on Blockstack. The two led their new startup through the Y Combinator accelerator in the summer of 2014, and upon completion, raised a seed round led by Union Square Ventures(USV), with participation from Naval Ravikant, SV Angel, and others.
After launching a blockchain-based decentralized identity(DID) system in 2014, the team released the initial design for the Blockstack platform in 2015. They began R&D on its peer-to-peer communication and data storage system. The R&D phase lasted through 2017 and concluded with Blockstack releasing an alpha version of its developer platform, which included a developer release of the Blockstack Browser and a decentralized storage system.
By the end of 2017, the company also secured two additional funding rounds via a Series A, led by USV, with participation from Lux Capital, Digital Currency Group, and others. In July 2019, Blockstack received the green light from the SEC to conduct a token sale in the U.S under Regulation A+, the first such token offering of its kind. Blockstack PBC has now raised over $75 million from equity investments and token offerings for the Stacks ecosystem. Investors also include USV, Lux Capital, Zhen Fund, HashKey, Recruit Holding, SNZ, Digital Currency Group, Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, Winklevoss Capital, and over 300,000 other entities and individuals.
Technology
A user-owned internet on Bitcoin, ok, but how?
Proof of Transfer is in line with Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of new networks sharing Bitcoin’s computing power, but keeping additional data out of the Bitcoin chain.
Stacks 2.0 blockchain is a layer-1 blockchain that uses the Bitcoin blockchain as a secure base-layer to bring predictable smart contracts and decentralized apps to Bitcoin. Bitcoin is minimal by design and is meant to not change, but Stacks extends the capability of Bitcoin to enable smart contracts and apps without modifying Bitcoin and with minimal transaction load on Bitcoin. Thousands of Stacks transactions result in a single hash at the Bitcoin blockchain, and Stacks microblocks offer fast confirmations of streaming blocks.
Stacks 2.0 mainnet launch is currently expected to launch on January 14, 2021.
ӿ Stacks brings apps and smart contracts to Bitcoin
Quick hits:
Basics
Project History
Technology