STX Surges 20% Ahead of Nakamoto Upgrade, Outperforming Bitcoin

Stacks (STX), the native token of the Bitcoin-focused layer-2 smart contract platform, has seen a significant price surge of approximately 20% over the past week.

The native token of the Bitcoin-focused layer-2 smart contract platform, Stacks (STX), has witnessed a substantial price surge of around 20% over the past week. This rally comes amid a broader recovery in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the rally.

Over the past week, STX has seen a remarkable price increase, outpacing even Bitcoin's respectable 7.5% gain since September 18. As of September 26, the trading volume for STX has doubled to reach $148.2 million, indicating a significant rise in interest and activity.

A key factor contributing to STX's price rally is the approaching Nakamoto Upgrade, which is set to be activated on October 9. The Stacks Foundation has announced that the hard fork will occur at Bitcoin block number 864864, which is less than 15 days away from now.

The Nakamoto Upgrade will introduce several enhancements to the Stacks ecosystem:

To commemorate this milestone, the Stacks community is hosting over 20 developer workshops around the globe, featuring lectures, demos, and challenges, with rewards in STX tokens.

Expanding Ecosystem and Integrations

In preparation for the upgrade, both Solana and Aptos have announced integrations with sBTC. This move will enable developers to incorporate Bitcoin-backed assets into decentralized applications (DApps) on these platforms, expanding the use cases for Bitcoin beyond simple holding or trading.

Stacks Network Growth and User Interest

The Stacks blockchain has experienced notable growth in recent times:

Bitcoin's Influence on STX Price

Interestingly, STX's price movements have historically displayed a strong correlation with Bitcoin. As BTC scaled to new highs in March and April, STX followed suit, hitting its all-time high of $3.84 on April 1. The recent uptick in Bitcoin's price, influenced by factors such as the potential approval of a US-based spot Bitcoin ETF and the upcoming Bitcoin halving, has once again propelled STX to new local highs.

USDh Stablecoin Launches on Stacks L2

Among other positive developments within the Stacks ecosystem, Hermetica has expanded its Bitcoin-backed stablecoin, USDh, to the Stacks Layer 2 network. This move introduces new DeFi possibilities for Bitcoin holders, enabling them to generate yields of up to 25% while remaining within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

USDh, which is fully backed by Bitcoin and pegged to the US dollar, has already attracted $2 million in Total Value Locked since its launch on Bitcoin’s Layer 1 four months ago. Notably, major decentralized exchanges, including Bitflow Finance, Velar, and Zest Protocol, are integrating USDh, further enhancing its utility within the ecosystem.