Stacks Reveals Revised Nakamoto Mainnet Activation Schedule – Full Details Unveiled
Stacks (STX), the Bitcoin Layer 2 project, has announced an updated timeline for the much-awaited Nakamoto hard fork. In its most recent update, the Stacks Foundation disclosed that core developers have set the mainnet activation to take place at Bitcoin Block #867,867, expected around 30th October, according to the timer displayed on the Stacks website.
Just ahead of the 15th anniversary of the Bitcoin whitepaper, Stacks Foundation mentioned in their blog on 17th October that fast blocks on the leading Bitcoin L2 would be available.
The selection of the new block for the hard fork stands as the final step in the Nakamoto activation process.
Despite facing delays leading up to the Nakamoto finalization which left the Stacks community frustrated, the path has been far from smooth. Initially, the Foundation had set out to complete the Nakamoto activation at Bitcoin Block 864,864, however, this did not come to fruition.
Anticipated Developments After Nakamoto
The Nakamoto hard fork signifies a pivotal upgrade for the Stacks blockchain by addressing issues present in the current design. Notably, this includes tackling slow confirmation times arising from the block production rates of Bitcoin and the inefficiencies of micro-blocks due to limitations in the existing protocol.
Upon activation, a series of core improvements will be implemented to tackle these challenges, notably by separating Stacks block production from Bitcoin’s block schedule. This adjustment will allow for blocks to be produced rapidly, thereby enhancing transaction speeds.
Furthermore, Nakamoto’s release aims to achieve finality closely aligned with Bitcoin’s block finality. Once a transaction is confirmed on the Stacks blockchain, reversing it would be as difficult as reorganizing Bitcoin itself.
Nakamoto will also enhance the cryptographic sortition algorithm to ensure fairness by making it more resistant to miner extractable value (MEV) through competitive spending requirements and increased randomness in miner selection. This adjustment will effectively reduce the ability of Bitcoin miners to unfairly extract value based on their position.
Analysis of Stacks (STX) Price Movement
Recently, Grayscale, an asset manager, included Stacks (STX) in its list of the top 20 crypto assets with potential returns based on prevailing market trends and fundamentals. With expectations of continued price increases in the crypto market in Q4/2024, Stacks (STX) appears to be well-poised for further price upticks.
Leveraging Bitcoin’s growing momentum, the price of STX has surged by 12% in the past week, contributing to a 30% increase over the last month.
On the daily chart, STX, as of the current moment, remains within an ascending triangle pattern, trading above both its short-term and long-term exponential moving averages.