Stacks (STX) Surges 20% Ahead of Nakamoto Mainnet Upgrade

Stacks (STX), the native token of the Bitcoin-focused layer-2 smart contract platform, has seen a significant price surge of approximately 20% over the past week. This rally comes as the cryptocurrency market experiences a broader recovery, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the charge.

STX Outperforms Bitcoin

While Bitcoin has posted a respectable 7.5% increase since September 18, STX has far outpaced it with its 20% gain. Trading volume for STX has doubled to $148.2 million as of September 26, indicating growing interest and activity in the token.

Nakamoto Upgrade Fuels Momentum

A key factor driving STX’s price rally is the imminent Nakamoto Upgrade, scheduled for activation on October 9. The Stacks Foundation has announced that the hard fork will occur at Bitcoin block number 864864, less than 15 days from now.

The Nakamoto Upgrade promises several improvements to the Stacks ecosystem:

• Faster transaction speeds
• Introduction of sBTC, a new Bitcoin-pegged token
• Enhanced DeFi capabilities on Bitcoin

To celebrate this milestone, the Stacks community is hosting over 20 developer workshops worldwide, offering lectures, demonstrations, and challenges with STX token rewards.

Expanding Ecosystem and Integrations

In preparation for the upgrade, both Solana and Aptos have announced integrations with sBTC. This move will allow developers to incorporate Bitcoin-backed assets into decentralized applications (DApps) on these platforms, expanding use cases for Bitcoin holders beyond simple holding or trading.

Stacks Network Growth and User Interest

The Stacks blockchain has seen remarkable growth in recent weeks:

• Smart contract deployments reached an all-time high of 1,400 in August, a 30% month-over-month increase.
• DEX trading volume on the Stacks network surged by over 31,300% from September 17 to September 25.
• Total Value Locked (TVL) in the Stacks ecosystem increased by 70% from $91.1 million on September 18 to $112.5 million at the time of writing.

Bitcoin’s Influence on STX Price

STX’s price movements have historically shown a strong correlation with Bitcoin. As BTC reached new highs in March and April, STX followed suit, hitting its all-time high of $3.84 on April 1. The recent uptick in Bitcoin’s price, driven by factors such as potential US-based spot Bitcoin ETF approvals and the upcoming Bitcoin halving, has once again propelled STX to new local highs.

USDh Stablecoin Launches on Stacks L2

Adding to the positive developments in the Stacks ecosystem, Hermetica has expanded its Bitcoin-backed stablecoin, USDh, to the Stacks Layer 2 network. This move offers new DeFi options for Bitcoin holders, allowing them to earn yields of up to 25% while maintaining exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

USDh, which is fully backed by Bitcoin and pegged to the US dollar, has already attracted $2 million in Total Value Locked since its launch on Bitcoin’s Layer 1 four months ago. Major decentralized exchanges like Bitflow Finance, Velar, and Zest Protocol are integrating USDh, further enhancing its utility within the ecosystem.