Stacks, an L2 protocol addressing Bitcoin’s scalability issues and broadening its blockchain capabilities, initiated its Nakamoto upgrade on April 22, 2024. This advancement aims to equip developers with improved tools for building smart contracts and applications, leveraging Bitcoin’s robust infrastructure. According to the Stacks team, this upgrade strategically extends Bitcoin’s utility beyond its conventional role as a digital store of value.

Muneeb Ali, one of the creators of Stacks, asserts that the upgrade signifies a crucial moment for Bitcoin, highlighting the resurgence of developer interest in the platform. The Nakamoto upgrade is anticipated to introduce faster block times, reducing them from the current 10-30 minutes to approximately five seconds. This adjustment is expected to ease congestion on the Bitcoin network, enabling quicker and more cost-efficient transactions.

“We’re witnessing a significant moment characterized by the resurgence of developers' interest in Bitcoin,” stated Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Stacks, in a comment to Bitcoin.com News. “Innovations like Ordinals, Runes, and various layers have reignited developers' enthusiasm for Bitcoin and underscored the enormous potential to introduce new use cases to the largest crypto economy,” Ali added.

The Nakamoto upgrade of Stacks this week symbolizes the broader evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem as it rapidly expands beyond being solely a store of value and transforms into a secure foundation for experimentation and economic expansion.

According to Stacks, L2 solutions are anticipated to unlock over $1 trillion in dormant capital within the Bitcoin ecosystem by enhancing its functionality. The ongoing rollout of the Nakamoto upgrade over the next month is expected to reinforce Stacks’ reputation as a dependable network for accessing the Bitcoin economy. This announcement follows a substantial influx of funding for Bitcoin-based L2 projects this year.