Stacks Updates

The institutional stack for Bitcoin-native finance keeps filling in. Stacks integrated with the infrastructure institutions already trust, meeting the security, compliance, and operational standards they require. This is how asset managers and corporate treasuries start putting Bitcoin holdings to work.

With Bitcoin Staking, institutions and BTC holders can earn a target 3% APY, self-custodially. Bond BTC with STX while BTC stays in your wallet and the yield is paid in native BTC. Model your return under any scenario with the Bitcoin Staking yield calculator: https://www.stacks.co/bitcoin-yield-calculator

HashKey Cloud is joining Bitcoin Staking on Stacks. The firm has HKD 29 billion staked across more than 40 networks and will participate in the first Genesis Bond, expected around 10 September. Bitcoin Staking pays yield denominated in BTC, with the underlying bitcoin held on Bitcoin L1.

In 15 days, the Stacks Genesis Bond goes live: the first institutional Bitcoin staking bond of the PoX-5 bootstrap phase, capacity-limited. Meanwhile, Stacking DAO's pooled L2 liquid Bitcoin staking and Zest Protocol's staking vault are coming to STX. More soon.

Trusted institutional infrastructure for Bitcoin-native finance continues to grow. BitGo now supports sBTC, bringing institutional custody and SIP-010 compatibility to the Stacks ecosystem. As institutions look beyond holding Bitcoin, secure infrastructure is essential. https://x.com/Stacks/status/2092255484975935543?s=20

Stacks' Token Transparency Filing (TTF) is now live on Bloomberg Terminal, reaching 350,000+ terminals worldwide. This level of transparency has been the standard from the start. STX was distributed through the first SEC-qualified token offering in US history, and the Grayscale Stacks Trust as the first publicly quoted US product providing exposure to STX. Every mature asset class has a capital market. Bitcoin's is taking shape on Stacks, with STX as its staking capacity asset. Capital entering that market deserves disclosure standards that match what it already expects elsewhere.

Bitcoin capital needs to be productive. → Earn Bitcoin by providing liquidity on Bitflow → Earn Bitcoin by supplying on Zest Protocol → Earn Bitcoin by locking in a Hermetica vault Stacks unlocks the the next phase for Bitcoin.

For a long time, holding Bitcoin meant one thing: buy it and lock it in a hardware wallet. Now, Institutions want more ways to put Bitcoin to work, and providers like Fireblocks are building the infrastructure to let them. Stacks already integrates the custody infrastructure institutions rely on and Bitcoin Staking delivers BTC yield without moving Bitcoin out of custody. That's the shift: idle Bitcoin becoming productive capital, on institutions' own terms.

24 days until the first ever self-custodial Bitcoin yield mechanism goes live with its Genesis bond. → Genesis bond: first staking period with limited BTC capacity exclusive to institutions. → Staking Pools: Stacking DAO and others will come online.

Starting Bitcoin block 966,350 (~Sep 10) Stacks distributes 1 BTC per month through a 90-day incentive program with Zest Protocol and Bitflow. Rewards paid in BTC and target DeFi activities: → Borrowing USDCx against sBTC and STX → Liquidity activity in core USDCx pairs

The Genesis Bond officially has a block height 🟧 The bond runs during reward cycle 143, which starts at Bitcoin block 966,350. → Opens on Sept ~10 → Enrollment closes Sept 9 → First rewards are projected for Sept 17

Reminder: restack your STX before ~August 12 (Bitcoin block 962,050) to keep earning. Here are quick tutorials based on the pool you are using: https://x.com/Stacks/status/2083267023916662923?s=20

Stacks X Bitfinex: How Bitcoin Is Being Put To Work Stacks gets the top spot at Bitfinex' latest Industry report on productive Bitcoin. Bitfinex shared the productive Bitcoin overview on X featuring BlackRock and Stacks. Read the full article here: Bitfinex - How Bitcoin is being put to work

More than 200 applications were submitted for the Stacks Community DeGrants Cohort 4. Six projects have been selected to share a combined $25,000 in funding. Read more about the 6 projects selected to strengthen the Stacks ecosystem: https://stacksendowment.co/blog/degrants-cohort-4

Reminder that every staker needs to restake after PoX-5. All previously staked STX unlocked at activation, following the precedent of prior PoX upgrades. Restake before Bitcoin block 962,050 to earn from the first post fork cycle. Rewards from the final pre fork cycle pay out normally. Full guide: https://www.stacks.co/blog/how-to-restake-your-stx-after-the-pox-5-hard-fork

Reminder Every staker needs to restake after PoX-5. All previously staked STX unlocked at activation, following the precedent of prior PoX upgrades. Restake before Bitcoin block 962,050 to earn from the first post fork cycle. Rewards from the final pre fork cycle pay out normally.

Builders that received interim grants last Fall are shipping. No-seed-phrase wallets, an sBTC data economy for AI agents, a trustless Runes bridge, on-chain gaming, and real commerce with STX/sBTC. Check out the latest milestones and updates: https://stacks.foundation/july-grants-update

If you stake STX, one action this week: restake. All staked STX unlocked when PoX-5 activated. Restake before Bitcoin block 962,050 and your BTC rewards keep flowing without missing a cycle.

The PoX-5 upgrade has been activated successfully and without issues. Core contributors have verified the activation through post-upgrade checks, and the network is producing blocks normally. Signers and node operators completed their migrations ahead of activation, along with major exchange partners including Binance and Upbit. Deposits and withdrawals on migrated exchanges are operating as normal. With the hardfork now live, here's what comes next: https://www.stacks.co/blog/the-stacks-pox-5-hardfork-is-live-what-comes-next