Stacks 2.0 Unveils Updated Timeline for Nakamoto Mainnet Activation
Stacks (STX), a Bitcoin Layer 2 project, recently announced the new timeline for the Nakamoto hard fork activation. According to Stacks Foundation, the mainnet activation is scheduled to take place at Bitcoin Block #867,867 around 30 October, as indicated on Stacks’ website countdown.
Described in a blog post on 17 October by Stacks Foundation as arriving just before the 15th anniversary of the Bitcoin whitepaper, the upcoming fast block production on the leading Bitcoin L2 network is highly anticipated.
The selection of the activation block signifies the final step in preparing for the Nakamoto hard fork.
Despite facing delays that have caused frustration within the Stacks community, the road to the Nakamoto finalization has been marked by challenges. Originally planned for Bitcoin Block 864,864, the Nakamoto activation did not occur as intended.
Anticipated Features After Nakamoto Activation
The Nakamoto hard fork is set to introduce significant enhancements to the Stacks blockchain, addressing existing design flaws. Notable improvements include addressing slow confirmation times resulting from Bitcoin’s block production rates and optimizing micro-blocks which are currently constrained by the protocol’s limitations.
Upon implementation, core upgrades will be put in place to tackle these issues, primarily by separating Stacks block production from Bitcoin’s block schedule. By decoupling these processes, block production speed will be boosted significantly, thus enhancing transaction speeds.
Furthermore, Nakamoto will aim to sync finality on the Stacks blockchain with Bitcoin’s block finality. Transactions confirmed on Stacks post-Nakamoto will exhibit a level of irreversibility comparable to that of Bitcoin itself.
Additionally, Nakamoto will refine the cryptographic sortition algorithm to ensure fairness. By making adjustments to the algorithm, it will increase resistance against miner extractable value (MEV) by necessitating competitive spending and enhancing randomness in miner selection. This measure is designed to curb unfair exploitation by Bitcoin miners.
Price Movement of Stacks (STX)
Last month, Grayscale, a prominent asset manager, included Stacks (STX) in its roster of top 20 cryptocurrencies with potential for growth based on prevailing market trends and fundamentals. Amidst widespread expectations of continued crypto price surges in Q4/2024, Stacks (STX) appears well-positioned for further price appreciation.
Buoyed by Bitcoin’s upward momentum, the price of STX has increased by 12% over the past week, contributing to a 30% gain in the last month.
As per the daily chart analysis, STX was observed trading within an ascending triangle pattern, positioned above both its short-term and long-term exponential moving averages at the time of writing.