Stacks Launches Nakamoto Upgrade for Lightning-Fast Bitcoin Transactions

Key Points:

• Muneeb Ali announced that the Nakamoto upgrade is live. It enhances Stacks Layer 2 transactions with 100% Bitcoin finality.
• The new upgrade cuts transaction processing time to just a few seconds, compared to Bitcoin’s typical 10-40 minutes.
• Stacks now aligns closely with Bitcoin, allowing forks only through Bitcoin itself while paving the way for the upcoming SBTC launch in 4-6 weeks.

Co-founder of the Bitcoin Layer 2 network Stacks Muneeb Ali announced via a post on X that the long-anticipated Nakamoto upgrade has just gone live.

Nakamoto Upgrade Successfully Launched for Stacks Layer 2 Network

One is achieving 100% finality on Stacks Layer 2 transactions. This means that once confirmed, a transaction can never be reverted. It gives the user the security of finality on top of stability. Moreover, the ordering and reversing of transactions are now powered by the full hash power of Bitcoin, hence wholly secure.

The Nakamoto upgrade introduces, among other things, the feature of “Fast Blocks,” which reduces transaction delays from 10 to 40 minutes on the Bitcoin network to just a few seconds on Stacks. This is expected to increase user experience and make the platform more developer-friendly.

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Enhanced Security and Upcoming SBTC Launch Timeline

Stacks no longer forks from Bitcoin. The only possible fork of Stacks Layer 2 is achieved by reorganizing Bitcoin itself, which provides greater coherence with the Bitcoin network and a reduced risk of fragmentation.

The Nakamoto upgrade lays the groundwork for the upcoming launch of the SBTC, which is anticipated within the next 4 to 6 weeks. The core developers indicate that this release focuses on network security and is a major upgrade, with more optimizations coming in the next few weeks for network bandwidth and latency. These updates are considered regular node upgrades rather than changes that are critical to consensus, but they are important for improving the overall performance and reliability of the Stacks network.