Stacking the Digital Foundation for the Future:
‘Stacks’ brings needed & timely innovations to crypto pathways
The opinions in this piece are those of the author and do not represent the official standpoints of the companies mentioned.
This unrelenting pandemic has accelerated the already critical digital transformation happening worldwide. With it comes many more questions and problems to solve as we rapidly expand digital infrastructure to accommodate the new normal. Naturally, these systems are under great pressure to maintain security and boost operations while traffic booms.
We know one thing for sure after this crisis, which is there is no backtracking on the digital transformation. Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the infrastructure of the internet are marching onwards. Mass quarantine has fully amplified our digital lives, putting those with an already high-functioning digital presence in a clear advantage over others. This year and the ones to follow will directly shape the force of digital strategies to come. It will also change how users interact with their digital environments and their evolving attitudes towards ownership of their data.
Bitcoin initially arose in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis caused by irresponsible debt management and opaque financial systems. Those institutions are still our dominant system today, raising concerns over their potential repeated mismanagement. Cryptocurrency has grown over the past decade in response to these concerns. What started as an insular community has now grown to a global movement gaining traction, resources, and talent. As national currencies fluctuate while political situations destabilize, the attraction of a unified stable cryptocurrency continues to grow; and so do the challenges involved in stabilizing such a system at scale.
This is our turning point in cryptocurrency; from tall tales to growing reality. Now there are genuine opportunities for people to contribute both in development and ownership. Blockstack has been engineering a feasible mechanism for stable contributions: “Stacks,” which are attached to the Bitcoin infrastructure directly.
Their Stacks system solves several previous barriers to uptake while advancing the technology in a transparent and egalitarian manner towards higher energy efficiency, security, and value. This encourages wider participation and begins shifting the balance of power in data and asset management.
How will this work?
The Stacks 2.0 system is currently live on testnet with the full production mainnet release scheduled before the end of the year. It offers the following innovations and incentives to accelerate Proof-of-Transfer (PoX), a critical step forward in individual data ownership on the internet:
· Greater energy efficiency along the chain by utilizing the same energy for mining a bitcoin to secure a new chain
· Built-in incentive for developers to create new chains, which stay anchored to Bitcoin and its security benefits
· Web 3.0 introduces Clarity Smart contracts bringing more flexibility and security to PoX
· Between STX Mining and Stacking, users are placing more value and assets into the system while accumulating rewards and knowledge
· ‘Stacks’ is bringing further utility to Bitcoin and the technology behind it
Going forward, developers are contributing to the actualization of a more ethical and stable currency which embodies the values of trust and reliability that it was originally intended for. This marks an exciting step into uncharted territory for those willing to invest their time and expertise into this next stage. See below for how to get further involved and how you can contribute:
