Stacks Completes Major Network Overhaul, Significantly Improves Bitcoin Layer 2 Performance and Speed

by
Victoria d’Este

Posted: January 10, 2025 8:17 AM Updated: January 10, 2025 8:17 AM

by well

Correction and fact check date: January 10, 2025, 8:17 AM

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Recently, Stacks, a well-known Bitcoin layer 2 network, completed a major update that significantly increased bandwidth. The expansion, which increases network capacity by 500%, is an important milestone in our ongoing development. This update is expected to allow users to transact faster and more effectively, supporting Bitcoin’s growing use as a global layer for decentralized apps.

The Stacks team has made great strides in improving network performance. This increase in bandwidth will allow the platform to manage more transactions and facilitate more complex processes, which is essential for growing applications developed on top of Bitcoin.

The goal is to make Bitcoin Layer2 technology more accessible and useful for everyday use by improving the overall user experience by providing faster transaction times and lower costs. Core developers have also outlined plans for further improvements for 2025 to ensure continued progress.

Important aspects of the Nakamoto update

The successful October 29th release of the Nakamoto update was a milestone in the development of Stacks. Fast Blocks and the “Bitcoin Finality” mechanism are two innovations added in this update aimed at increasing transaction efficiency. The time it takes to confirm a transaction can be significantly reduced thanks to Fast Blocks, which allow the network to execute transactions faster. This is especially important for Bitcoin Layer2 systems, where transaction speed and scalability have traditionally been constraints.

Another important component of the Nakamoto update is the Bitcoin Finality mechanism, which ensures transactions on the Stacks network are confirmed more securely. By aligning more closely with Bitcoin’s consensus rules, it provides greater assurance that a transaction is complete and irreversible once confirmed on the stack. This feature makes the network more reliable, making it a better choice for people who want fast, secure transactions and decentralized apps.

Stack functionality has changed significantly since the Nakamoto update. Stack’s block creation now occurs separately from Bitcoin’s block creation. This change will allow transactions on the Stacks network to be confirmed in seconds, increasing the overall speed of the platform.

As a result, the Stacks network enables near-instantaneous confirmation times, overcoming one of the biggest obstacles that Bitcoin Layer2 solutions have had to overcome: transaction speed.