{"id":9664,"date":"2023-06-05T22:24:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T22:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/?p=9664"},"modified":"2025-09-10T15:24:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:24:20","slug":"what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin","title":{"rendered":"What is Stacks? DeFi for Bitcoin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Alternar tabla de contenidos\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#proof_of_transfer\" >Proof of Transfer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#microblocks\" >Microblocks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#stacking_with_ck\" >Stacking (with ck)<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#tokenomics\" >Tokenomics<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#clarity\" >Clarity<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#benefits_for_bitcoin\" >Benefits for Bitcoin<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#defi_for_bitcoin\" >DeFi for Bitcoin<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-stacks-defi-for-bitcoin\/#conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span><p><strong>Stacks\u00a0<\/strong>is a project started by\u00a0<strong>Muneeb Ali and Jude Nelson<\/strong>\u00a0that has been around Bitcoin for years, formerly known as\u00a0<strong>Blockstack<\/strong>. Although it is only recently that it has gained more popularity due to the release of\u00a0<strong>Stacks 2.0<\/strong>, with a very innovative consensus system.<\/p>\n<p>Stacks\u2019 vision is to build a platform for\u00a0<strong>smart contracts and decentralized applications<\/strong>, like Ethereum, but using the\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin<\/strong>\u00a0blockchain to gain security and enable functions that no other blockchain allows.<\/p>\n<p>In that sense they share Satoshi Nakamoto\u2019s original vision of building other systems that benefit from the larger\u00a0<strong>Proof of Work<\/strong>\u00a0(Bitcoin) network.<\/p>\n<p>Stacks has a native token called stacks or\u00a0<strong>ST<\/strong>X and a language for programming smart contracts called\u00a0<strong>Clarity<\/strong>. But what makes it a unique platform is its consensus and mining system.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"proof_of_transfer\"><\/span><strong>Proof of Transfer<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Consensus systems or blockchains<\/strong>\u00a0use a scarce resource for transaction processing (mining). In the case of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-proof-of-work-the-bitcoin-consensus-protocol\/\">Proof of Work<\/a>\u00a0blockchains such as Bitcoin,<strong>\u00a0computational power<\/strong>\u00a0is used, which costs energy, and in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-proof-of-stake-and-how-does-it-work\/\">Proof of Stake<\/a>\u00a0systems, such as Ethereum 2.0, native\u00a0<strong>coins<\/strong>\u00a0are used. Thanks to this cost of mining,\u00a0<strong>attacks on the network are discouraged<\/strong>\u00a0because the cost of an attack is greater than the benefit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Proof of Transfer\u00a0<\/strong>(PoX) is Stacks\u2019 novel consensus system. In this case, the scarce resource used to secure the blockchain is\u00a0<strong>bitcoin<\/strong>! Instead of competing by spending a lot of energy or staking a lot of coins, you\u00a0<strong>compete by spending bitcoin.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the Clarity language, Stacks has\u00a0<strong>visibility<\/strong>\u00a0into the Bitcoin blockchain and therefore can verify how much bitcoin each miner spends. The more bitcoin you spend the more likely your block will be mined and you will receive the block reward (in STX). This is what is new, it is a\u00a0<strong>consensus between two blockchains.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition, all Stacks<strong>\u00a0blocks are recorded (<\/strong>by means of a hash)\u00a0<strong>in the Bitcoin blockchain<\/strong>. Thanks to this, the entire history of Stacks is immutably recorded. As a result, any attack on Stacks is completely\u00a0<strong>public<\/strong>\u00a0(its malicious blocks are recorded in Bitcoin), which is not the case in any other blockchain, and countermeasures can be taken in good time.<\/p>\n<p>This design makes Stacks produce blocks at the same rate as Bitcoin, i.e. approximately every\u00a0<strong>10 minutes<\/strong>. Once the transactions of\u00a0<strong>Stacks miners<\/strong>\u00a0spending bitcoin have been included in the next Bitcoin block, one of them is automatically\u00a0<strong>selected<\/strong>\u00a0as the winner, and therefore, the block ratio is 1:1.<\/p>\n<p>The 10 minute confirmation times inherited from Bitcoin can be seen as a major drawback, but Stacks has an ace up its sleeve to improve transaction confirmation speed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"image_759083048\" class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\">\n<div class=\"img-inner dark\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1-300x205.jpg 300w\" alt=\"\u00bfQu\u00e9 es Stacks? DeFi para Bitcoin\" width=\"768\" height=\"526\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1-300x205.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin1.jpg\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"microblocks\"><\/span><strong>Microblocks<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>To reduce confirmation times<\/strong>\u00a0for users who wish to do so, the concept of\u00a0<strong>microblocks<\/strong>\u00a0has been designed. The idea is that when a miner spends bitcoin and adds the block information in the transaction, he can continue to\u00a0<strong>add microblocks<\/strong>\u00a0with more transactions on the fly.<\/p>\n<p>As long as a\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin transaction<\/strong>\u00a0has not been included in a block it can be\u00a0<strong>modified by paying more commission<\/strong>, this is known as\u00a0<strong>RBF<\/strong>. Miners will be incentivized to include the second version of your transaction because it pays more.<\/p>\n<p>This way a Stacks miner can do RBF to add, to that Bitcoin transaction, the microblock information. The fact that your transaction is in a microblock assures you that the probability that it will be included is close to 100%.<\/p>\n<p>Users will be able to choose when to transact in blocks or microblocks, but\u00a0<strong>block<\/strong>\u00a0transactions are recommended for<strong>\u00a0large amounts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"image_540043260\" class=\"img has-hover x md-x lg-x y md-y lg-y\">\n<div class=\"img-inner dark\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin-300x205.jpg 300w\" alt=\"\u00bfQu\u00e9 es Stacks? DeFi para Bitcoin\" width=\"768\" height=\"526\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin-300x205.jpg 300w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Simbolo-de-Stacks-Simbolo-de-Bitcoin.jpg\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"stacking_with_ck\"><\/span><b>Stacking (with ck)<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Going back to the idea of the consensus system where miners spend bitcoin to mine STX, that bitcoin is not spent anyway.<\/p>\n<p>This is a feature that no other blockchain has and the\u00a0<strong>bitcoin spent<\/strong>\u00a0by miners goes directly to\u00a0<strong>STX holders<\/strong>\u00a0who have locked their coins. This is known as\u00a0<strong>stacking<\/strong>\u00a0(not staking) and currently generates\u00a0<strong>an annual return of 10%<\/strong>\u00a0received in bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>Stacking can be combined with other protocols in Stacks to gain a\u00a0<strong>double profitability<\/strong>. On the one hand you earn bitcoin thanks to PoX and on the other hand you earn STX by participating in these protocols (such as providing liquidity for a stablecoin).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"tokenomics\"><\/span>Tokenomics<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Stacks\u2019 monetary policy is\u00a0<strong>inflationary to provide a minimum<\/strong>\u00a0per-block reward to miners. It is also coordinated with Bitcoin so that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/halving-crypto-what-it-is\/\">halvings<\/a>\u00a0occur approximately\u00a0<strong>every 4 years<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">1.000 STX per block for the first 4 years<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">500 STX per block for the following 4 years<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">250 STX per block for the following 4 years<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">125 STX per block in perpetuity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"clarity\"><\/span>Clarity<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>language design<\/strong>\u00a0for s<strong>mart contracts<\/strong>\u00a0takes a different path to Ethereum. Instead of using\u00a0<strong>bytecode<\/strong>\u00a0(similar to machine language that is very difficult for humans to read) a<strong>\u00a0high level language<\/strong>\u00a0is used directly as part of the consensus.<\/p>\n<p>Different languages are used in Ethereum with\u00a0<strong>Solidity<\/strong>\u00a0being the most popular, but they are all high level and to run they must be\u00a0<strong>compiled to bytecode<\/strong>. The problem with this is that almost nobody understands bytecode and you have to trust that the contract in bytecode says the same thing as the contract you have written.<\/p>\n<p>In Stacks, a high level language is used directly in the blockchain providing more<strong>\u00a0transparency<\/strong>. Clarity is a Lisp based language that seeks to\u00a0<strong>maximize security<\/strong>. This is why it is also not\u00a0<strong>Turing complete<\/strong>\u00a0like Ethereum. According to Muneeb this eliminates many unnecessary risks that in Ethereum have caused dozens of exploits, while maintaining a powerful language.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned above, Clarity has\u00a0<strong>visibility<\/strong>\u00a0over the\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin<\/strong>\u00a0blockchain and can execute a contract based on what happens on the blockchain, as in the case of the Proof of Transfer.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"benefits_for_bitcoin\"><\/span>Benefits for Bitcoin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Because of its characteristics, Stacks is a blockchain that\u00a0<strong>benefits bitcoin<\/strong>. First, it\u00a0<strong>increases the demand<\/strong>\u00a0for bitcoin because it is used to mine STX. Secondly, due to the competition of Stacks miners to spend bitcoin,\u00a0<strong>large commissions are also paid to bitcoin\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/how-to-mine-bitcoin\/\">miners<\/a><\/strong>. The latter can help maintain bitcoin\u2019s security in a future where bitcoin is no longer produced.<\/p>\n<p>It is also possible that the Stacks consensus protocol will migrate in the long term to\u00a0<strong>Proof of Burn<\/strong>. The operation would be very similar but instead of miners handing out bitcoin, miners would\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-token-burning\/\">destroy it<\/a>. This would add\u00a0<strong>deflationary pressure<\/strong>\u00a0on bitcoin causing the supply to shrink, similar to Ethereum\u2019s\u00a0<strong>EIP-1559<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"defi_for_bitcoin\"><\/span>DeFi for Bitcoin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Thanks to the visibility that Stacks has over the Bitcoin blockchain some\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-defi-o-decentralized-finance\/\">DeFi (decentralized finance)<\/a>\u00a0use cases\u00a0<strong>for<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Bitcoin<\/strong>\u00a0are possible.<\/p>\n<p>Most notable are\u00a0<strong>bitcoin loans<\/strong>\u00a0without trust. The borrower deposits his\u00a0<strong>collateral in Stacks<\/strong>\u00a0and the lender sends him the bitcoin. In the event that that amount of bitcoin plus interest is not repaid, the collateral in Stacks is sent to the lender. The contract in Stacks can know whether the bitcoin has been returned or not.<\/p>\n<p>In the future, collateralized\u00a0<strong>synthetic bitcoin<\/strong>\u00a0will also be developed so that it can be used directly in Stacks contracts.<\/p>\n<p>Another interesting use is the\u00a0<strong>decentralized .btc domains<\/strong>\u00a0that have been launched on Stacks. The idea of decentralized domains is in fact the origin of Stacks in 2013 and was also an idea that interested Satoshi with\u00a0<strong>BitDNS<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/en\/what-is-namecoin\/\">Namecoin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In short, Stacks is a unique project in the world of cryptocurrencies as it has not taken the easy way out, but has tried to\u00a0<strong>bring<\/strong>\u00a0new use cases to Bitcoin\u00a0<strong>without modifying it and not trying to compete<\/strong>\u00a0with it as a sovereign money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Tiempo de lectura:<\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 5<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutos<\/span><\/span>Stacks\u00a0is a project started by\u00a0Muneeb Ali and Jude Nelson\u00a0that has been around Bitcoin for years, formerly known as\u00a0Blockstack. Although it is only recently that it has gained more popularity due to the release of\u00a0Stacks 2.0, with a very innovative consensus system. Stacks\u2019 vision is to build a platform for\u00a0smart contracts and decentralized applications, like Ethereum, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrencies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9664"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24723,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9664\/revisions\/24723"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitnovo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}