Stox

Stacks is a decentralized network built on the Bitcoin network. While realizing DeFi (decentralized finance) on Bitcoin, Sacks also unleashes more potential and value of Bitcoin. Founded by Muneeb Ali, the previous project Blockstack started in 2013. Its name was rebranded to Stacks in the fourth quarter of 2020. By doing so, it "separates the ecosystem and open source projects from Blockstack PBC" and builds the original Stacks protocol. Afterwards, the main net Stacks 2.0 was launched in January 2021.

Stacks is a layer 1 blockchain solution that brings smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to the Bitcoin network, including its security and stability. Since these DApps on Stacks are open and modular, any developer can build on top of each other's applications, so it can also be said that the Stack ecosystem is an integration of independent entities, developers and community members.

Stacks 2.0 extends the design of the Bitcoin blockchain network, which enables secure applications and predictable Clarity smart contracts without modifying Bitcoin itself. Many of the bugs and vulnerabilities that are prevalent on current blockchain networks can be effectively prevented by virtue of Clarity, a powerful, secure, and readable smart contract language.

And Stacks' unique "Proof of Transfer" consensus mechanism makes it possible for Stacks to allow users to leverage the power of Bitcoin when building. Moreover, smart contracts and transactions are settled in Bitcoin. With CityCoins backed by Stacks, it is also possible to earn income without the risk of losing your principal.

In addition to applications and smart contracts, Stacks also supports Bitcoin's DeFi, NFT. Importantly, its token sale was approved by the US SEC back on July 10, 2019. It was the first ever blockchain token sale and launched a $28 million Reg A+ sales dollar offering. It is believed that Stacks will eventually achieve the goal of "creating a better, decentralized Internet owned by all users".

How StacksSTX works

Stacks enables scaling to Bitcoin by connecting directly to the Bitcoin blockchain through the Proof of Transfer (PoX) consensus mechanism without forking or changing the original Bitcoin blockchain. And Stacks introduces a new smart contract programming language, Clarity. It has clear syntax and a design that is both secure and easy to build. This mechanism allows miners to pay BTC to mint new Stacks (STX) tokens.

Proof of transfer (PoX) is an extension of the proof-of-burn mechanism, a novel consensus mechanism in which miners compete for the computing power of block resources by "burning" proof-of-work in cryptocurrencies. However, PoX uses the cryptocurrency whose blockchain proof of work has been established to protect new blocks. Dissimilar to the proof-of-burn mechanism, its miners do not burn the cryptocurrency but transfer the committed cryptocurrency to another participant in the network.

Therefore, users of Stacks network have the opportunity to receive rewards in the basic cryptocurrency. Such a mechanism makes it possible for Stacking to become a part of PoX, the new consensus mechanism of Stacks. Since the proof-of-transfer blockchain is anchored on the proof-of-work chain of their choice, and Stacks uses Bitcoin as its anchor chain, the consensus properties, liquidity, and social effects of Bitcoin can all support StacksSTX back, and ultimately achieve the goal of integrating the Bitcoin network into DeFi.

What is STX?

Issued on July 15, 2019, STX is the native token of the Stacks network, with a total supply of 2,048,913,388 STX. It is designed to help the Stacks platform enable Defi, NFTs, applications and smart contracts for Bitcoin. Now, STX, an encrypted digital asset, has been deployed on the Stacks 2.0 blockchain network.

According to the revised economic policy of Stacks 2.0, a total of 1,000 STX is released per block in the first four years, which is reduced to 500 STX/block after 4 years, and then reduced to 250 STX/block in four years, and so on. No deflation happens after it reaches 125 STX/block.

In the Stacks platform, you can earn BTC by locking STX by stacking and supporting the security and consensus of the network. This is achieved by pledging Stacks' unique Proof-of-Transfer mechanism, which can improve the security of the network. Due to the nature of the mechanism, the network provides BTC rewards instead of STX tokens.

Other specific uses of STX include market promotions, community incentives, ecological construction, etc. The later tokens are generated by mining and will be burned and consumed during network operation. As the ecology grows, which brings projects such as LNSwap, StacksPandas, and MiamiCoin, STX will certainly be used in more practical scenarios. Relying on the strong consensus and liquidity of Bitcoin, it is believed that Stacks has more possibilities to be developed.

STX Crypto Wallet

In addition to putting STX in the Gate.io exchange for easy trading, users can also put STX in a crypto wallet.

The official wallet for Stacks is Hiro Wallet, which is open-sourced and can be used to store, stack, and connect applications in the Stacks ecosystem through an extension to the browser or desktop. STX and other digital tokens can be stored, sent and received on it.

In addition, Hiro Wallet also allows users to directly purchase STX by using a credit card, debit card or bank transfer, and then they can choose to lock your STX on the wallet application to participate in Stack. Meanwhile, Ledger devices can be used at Hiro Wallet to protect crypto assets, and after a security audit, the latter’s ledger hardware can improve security and convenience.

Support for the crypto market also includes mining Miamicoin, purchasing Stacks NFT, managing different DApps, etc. In the entire Stacks ecosystem, Hiro Wallet is an important part, and its planned Hiro Wallet repurchase plan has been launched, aiming to use special Ways to contribute to the building of Bitcoin’s applications in the future.