Stacks (STX) is the native token of a Bitcoin layer that adds smart contracts and apps to Bitcoin.
Stacks addresses a gap in Bitcoin: the base chain is secure but cannot easily run smart-contract apps such as DeFi or NFTs. Stacks places a separate layer on top of Bitcoin and runs apps while relying on Bitcoin for security.
Stacks grew out of Blockstack, the company founded by Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea, which is why CoinGecko still lists the asset under the id blockstack. Stacks is widely regarded as one of the best-known Bitcoin-layer projects.
Stacks uses a consensus mechanism called Proof of Transfer (PoX). Stacks miners spend Bitcoin (BTC) to win the right to produce Stacks blocks, and participants who lock up STX, known as stacking, receive Bitcoin rewards in return.
Stacks records its transaction history in a way that is tied to Bitcoin blocks, so rewriting Stacks history would also require touching Bitcoin's record. Stacks therefore works as an app chain rooted in Bitcoin's security.
Data provided by CoinGecko
Stacks activated the Nakamoto upgrade in October 2024, which sharply increased block speed and, according to the project, gave transactions Bitcoin-level finality that cannot be reversed without a Bitcoin reorganization.
Stacks introduced sBTC, a bridge asset designed to be trust-minimized that moves Bitcoin 1:1 into Stacks for use in apps and back to Bitcoin, with deposits opening in December 2024. Stacks' official Q2 2026 ecosystem report put sBTC supply at about 2,949 BTC as of the end of June 2026.
Stacks aims to use sBTC to put otherwise idle Bitcoin to work in DeFi, and drawing Bitcoin liquidity into apps remains its central task.
Stacks operates in a Bitcoin-layer sector where many newer projects now try to add utility to Bitcoin. Stacks launched its mainnet (Stacks 2.0) in January 2021, making it one of the older projects, and it points to sBTC and its existing app ecosystem as differentiators.
Stacks uses its own smart-contract language, Clarity, and highlights its ability to read Bitcoin state. Stacks and newer Bitcoin layers continue to compete to become the layer that actually puts Bitcoin's assets to use.
Stacks' roadmap focuses on wider sBTC use, growth of the app ecosystem including DeFi and NFTs, performance and usability improvements, and expanded Bitcoin staking features. Stacks aims to make using apps a natural step for Bitcoin holders.
Stacks is pursuing a direction that extends Bitcoin from a held asset into a platform where apps run. Actual timelines and outcomes of roadmap items are best checked against official announcements.
Stacks' biggest open question is whether Bitcoin holders will actually use Stacks apps. Stacks may see usage grow more slowly than hoped, faces strong competition from newer Bitcoin layers, and is often described as complex and hard to understand.
Stacks' bridge assets such as sBTC carry technical and security risks, including smart-contract bugs and dependence on signer operations. This article is for information only and is not investment advice; any investment decision is your own responsibility.
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