Stacks is reshaping Bitcoin’s future. What started as a scaling solution has grown into a BTCFi hub, hosting lending, decentralized exchanges, NFTs, and social platforms. The mission is clear: unlock trillions in dormant Bitcoin value and turn the world’s largest digital asset into the base layer for a complete economy.
While many Bitcoin Layer 2 projects have faded, Stacks has strengthened. The third phase of the sBTC deposit plan increased BTC deposits from just over 1,000 to more than 5,000, pushing total value locked past $580 million. Stablecoin market caps on the network have surged nearly sevenfold, and STX staking hit a record 608 million.
Institutional and retail interest is rising together. Since Bitcoin spot ETFs launched in 2024, public companies now hold over 820,000 BTC, with MicroStrategy leading the way. Texas is building Bitcoin reserves, and regions like Hong Kong and Thailand are preparing legal frameworks for adoption. Beyond holding BTC, managing liquidity, hedging, and boosting capital efficiency require new tools, and BTCFi protocols are stepping in.
Past Bitcoin Layer 2s often failed due to low yields, centralization risks, security issues, and poor UX. Stacks faced similar hurdles until the 2024 Nakamoto upgrade and launch of trustless sBTC. Block times dropped from ten minutes to five seconds, fees fell to a few cents, and transactions now reach Bitcoin-level finality in about thirty minutes. Validator consensus exceeds 70 percent, miner selection is more transparent, and sBTC offers a decentralized, low-cost alternative to wrapped Bitcoin without KYC.
Adoption is accelerating. Institutions like Jump Crypto, CMS Holdings, and UTXO are using sBTC. Node operators include BitGo, Kiln, and Figment. Wormhole integration links Stacks to Solana, Aptos, and other chains. The ecosystem now has over a hundred projects in DeFi, gaming, NFTs, social apps, AI, and decentralized identity. ALEX enables BTC lending and sBTC pools, BitFlow aggregates DEX liquidity, Arkadiko and Hermetica develop stablecoin solutions