Nakamoto Upgrade Release Date Set: Bitcoin L2 Stacks Prepares For Major Update

In a significant move to transform its infrastructure, the Bitcoin (BTC) Layer 2 (L2) network Stacks is preparing to launch the Nakamoto upgrade, which is scheduled for release as early as April 16. 

The anticipated upgrade, which has been developing for years, is poised to shake up the Bitcoin L2 sector by increasing the project’s speed. Crypto developer and researcher Sly Odogwu delves into the details of this upgrade, shedding light on what the Stacks community can expect.

Stacks Unveils Nakamoto Upgrade

Stacks, formerly known as BlockStack and rebranded in 2021, serves as a Bitcoin L2 solution that facilitates the development of decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain. 

However, Odogwu noted that the Stacks ecosystem has encountered challenges due to its system design. These include slow Bitcoin block production due to cryptographic sorting when choosing a miner to create blocks. 

In addition, Stacks allows for cheap reorganization and faces issues with canonical chain top learning, leading to forks in the Stacks blockchain caused by miners excluding others and running their mining operations.

The Nakamoto upgrade promises to address these issues directly and bring a major change to the Stacks ecosystem, particularly regarding block production speed and Bitcoin finality.

One of the major advancements expected from the Nakamoto Upgrade is fast block production. The upgrade will separate block production from cryptographic sortition, enabling faster block creation. 

Miners will be able to produce more blocks simultaneously, and Stackers will facilitate validation, eliminating the need for sortition. According to the researcher, this change will significantly increase the overall speed of the Stacks blockchain.

Moreover, the Nakamoto Upgrade will increase Bitcoin finality within the Stacks ecosystem. Odogwu stated that reversing a Stack transaction will become as “impossible” as reversing a Bitcoin transaction. Also, forking within the Stacks blockchain will be eliminated, bolstering the immutability and security of the ecosystem.

Attracting Builders And Boosting Potential

Another key aspect of the upgrade is its focus on Bitcoin Miners MEV (Miner Extractable Value) resistance. The sortition algorithm will be altered, ensuring that Bitcoin miners no longer hold an advantage over Stack miners. 

This modification will reportedly promote a level playing field within the Stack ecosystem and reduce the manipulation of MEV.

A noteworthy development stemming from the upgrade is the 1:1 tie between Stack Block production and Bitcoin block production. According to Odogwu, this synchronization will result in faster block creation and increased security, eliminating the need for forks within the Stacks blockchain.

Overall, the upgrade is expected to attract prominent builders to the ecosystem, leading to the emergence of DApps and new projects. The timing of the Nakamoto upgrade to coincide with the Bitcoin halving is seen as a very bullish case for Odogwu, further strengthening its potential.

The Stacks community is awaiting the launch of this upgrade on April 16. This upgrade marks a new chapter for the L2 Bitcoin solution and could have further implications for its native token, STX, which has recently seen significant losses. 

Currently trading at $2.37, STX is down over 13% in the last 24 hours and over 30% in the last fourteen days. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com