What's Happening in Stacks?!

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What’s Happening in Stacks?!

A weekly update for all things Stacks. While not exhaustive, this list best covers Proof of Research’s top signals for the week. Each tweet is the thread origin and worth a deeper dive.

This week was absolutely loaded with important developments in the Stacks ecosystem! In fact, there was so much information that Substack has informed us that the post is too long for email (will be truncated). If you want the full update please visit Substack! If you think we missed anything you can always reach our DMs! Please enjoy this week’s What’s Happening in Stacks?!

THE ASCENSION: STACKS 2.1 NETWORK UPGRADE—STRENGHTENING THE CONNECTION TO BITCOIN

Hiro Systems @hirosystems

Introducing Stacks 2.1 — an upgrade that will strengthen the connection between @Stacks and #Bitcoin. The network is improving and we're excited to share what you can expect when launched! Speed. Scalability. Strength. The time is now, learn more here:

stacks.orgStacks 2.1: Strengthening The Connection to BitcoinWe see the incredible potential of Bitcoin and are committed to building the best tools to make it more useful. Stacks is the top Web3 project on Bitcoin today, and this is just the beginning. We’re excited to introduce the latest tools and upgrades comin

Stacks 2.1 can enable more efficient Bitcoin yield via Stacking, make bridges to other networks more robust, simplify the ways developers can link and trigger interactions between Stacks and Bitcoin, and lay some helpful groundwork for Subnets which can bring additional speed and scalability to the network when launched. Click the tweet above to learn more about each Key Update.

The Key Updates to Look for in the Stacks 2.1 Upgrade:

·        Stacking Improvements

·        New Clarity Functions for Parsing & Validating Data

·        Better Bridges

·        Decentralizing Mining Pools

·        Pay-to-Anyone Coinbase

·        Mining with Segwit & Taproot

·        Bitcoin-native Assets & Smart Contract Control

MUST-LISTEN TWITTER SPACES: SUBNETS FOR STACKS – SCALING SOLUTIONS FOR 10X GROWTH

stacks.btc @Stacks

https://t.co/8ncIBGazbd

Listen to this 54-minute conversation with Stacks core devs + Muneeb. Subnets are one of the final hurdles before Stacks can begin scaling. Listen to this conversation to better understand Subnets, meet the Stacks core devs, and when we can expect Subnets to go live! This Spaces is obligatory listening for anyone learning about Stacks (especially investors).

TYCHO ON HOW STACKS COULD PROVIDE ITS SMART CONTRACTS WRITE ACCESS TO BITCOIN

tycho.btc 🍊 @TychoOnnasch

I've spent some time over the past months thinking about ways @Stacks could give its smart contracts write access to Bitcoin. Open-ended thoughts 🧵 1/16

If you saw this tweet, you knew it was going to be included in this week’s What’s Happening in Stacks?! Tycho has discovered a way for Stacks smart contracts to write to Bitcoin. Additionally, this development can work with DLCs acting as an intermediary layer. PoR is excited to see who moves this idea forward!

Decentralized networks adjacent to Bitcoin can economically motivate Bitcoin holders to transfer funds to addresses that are specified programmatically. The best way to write to Bitcoin is to have a separate network where the nodes are signers of a massive multisig that facilitates peg-in/peg-outs of BTC to a tokenized BTC that’s backed 1-to-1 by the BTC in the multisig. The tokenized BTC lives on a network that has fully expressive smart contracts, so that the BTC can be used as programmable internet money.

OLD TWEET, BUT EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEDNLY REMINDER

muneeb.btc | Away @muneeb

Just got off a call & haven’t been this excited about a tech breakthrough in years. The last time was PoX algorithm. TLDR: the brilliant minds in Stacks have likely solved the Bitcoin write problem i.e, fully trustless BTC peg-in & peg-out; Stacks contracts writing to BTC chain.

TLDR; the brilliant minds in Stacks have likely solved the Bitcoin write problem! Is Tycho’s above tweet the answer to this cryptic tweet? We shall see! Stacks currently reads Bitcoin state. With this new development Stacks will likely write to Bitcoin state. If true, then Stacks is playing in a class of its own within the Bitcoin ecosystem! This is the golden goose!

Q3 2022 HIRO DEVELOPER SURVEY

Alex Miller @alexlmiller

Stacks Developers - we need to know what you think! Take the Hiro Developer Survey @ survey.hiro.so Be one of the first 300 developers to complete the survey and we’ll send you a limited edition NFT.

survey.hiro.soHiro Developer Survey - Q3 2022A survey for the developer community, administered by Hiro, to gather feedback about products used to build applications on the Stacks network.

Hiro Systems CEO, Alex Miller, posted the Q3 2022 Hiro Developer Survey. This survey, administered by Hiro, is designed to gather feedback about products used to build applications on the Stacks network. If you’re a dev on Stacks go ahead and fill out this survey to help the team at Hiro better calibrate their next initiative(s). The more honest the feedback, the better as Hiro has the resources to develop tools that 10x or 100x developer effectiveness. The survey takes 10 minutes to complete. The first 300 to do so will earn a limited edition NFT.

PROPOSAL: SHARED API & LIQUIDITY POOLS

BradBaker @fluidvoice

GM thought: @ALEXLabBTC @ArkadikoFinance @trustmachinesco create a *shared* API and liquidity pools empowering app devs to focus on UI's and use-cases. ie; most crypto swaps happen in the background of dapps vs on DEX sites. Focus on txs vs users The vision is the #CiscoOfCrypto

Brad Baker proposed an interesting thought. What if ALEX, Arkadiko, & Trust Machines created a “shared” API and liquidity pools? This would empower app devs to focus on UI’s and use-cases. The goal is to become “the Cisco of Crypto.”

Phillip De Smedt really liked this idea and proposed everything roll up into ALEX. Build the “Serum” of Stacks (Serum is a Solana project).

Philip @philipdesmedt

@fluidvoice @ALEXLabBTC @ArkadikoFinance @trustmachinesco tbh this is a great idea and I've discussed this several times internally with the team. I've always stated having a DEX is not our long-term goal but we needed a place for liquidity at launch. We should consolidate into ALEX and build the Serum of Stacks (Serum is on Solana)

MUNEEB: CRYPTO DEVS WILL NEED FULL ANONYMITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE

muneeb.btc | Away @muneeb

Bitcoin & crypto developers will need to be fully anonymous in the future, employed by individual LLCs with crowdfunded legal defense funds.

This Tweet prompted an interesting discussion regarding the potential opportunities and pitfalls for full dev anonymity.

HOT TAKE: ETH WILL FLIP BTC

JakeBlockchain.btc - Built on Bitcoin Podcast @JakeBlockchain

Hot take: ETH with flip #bitcoin and this is why. Humans have a fundamental need for growth and progress. This poll shows the perception of how complete #bitcoin is. It’s mostly done. There isn’t THAT much left to do. It’s ready for ossification as they say. 👇

Another week another provocative Jake Blockchain hot take re: the flippening. PoR’s own opinion is the ETH-BTC flippening would be massively bullish Bitcoin layers medium and long-term. Religious dogma and lazy support would no longer take precedent over innovation and building in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

In response, Castig.btc provided an image showing that Growth happens on specific layers. Very interesting! The bull case for Stacks continues to grow.

castig .btc/.eth @castig

@JakeBlockchain 2) In human civilization growth doesn't happen EVERYWHERE. Growth happens on certain layers. For example, * Fashion changes seasonally * Our Economy grows every year * But the underlying layers of Governance and Nature move slow.

HOT TAKE: PROOF OF RESEARCH’S OWN THEADVISOR.BTC FUDDING STACKS KICKED OFF A GREAT CONVERSATION…NEVER REST ON YOUR LAURELS

the-advisor.btc/.eth/.lens - Proof of Research @the_advisor_btc

3 reasons why I could move on from #Stacks within 2 years: -Lack of user/dev adoption -Mining decentralization doesn't improve -Failing in effectively integrating BTC in DeFi & NFTs I think anyone would agree about how crucial these 3 factors are.

The Advisor provided three reasons why he would leave Stacks. This FUD helped stir productive conversation. See the tweets below that resulted from the initial Tweet.

muneeb.btc | Away @muneeb

@the_advisor_btc Bitcoin write problem (or BTC peg-out from Stacks layer) is a key unlock, along with upgrades to speed/capacity. More engineers working on core infra are on-boarding across various entities which is a healthy sign. Bear markets are the best times to work on foundational stuff.

will.btc @corcoranwill

@the_advisor_btc I would love to see 3 threads originating from this thread. Each would be comprised of a series of tweets, each representing a ~3 month long 'baby steps' that plot a course for how we get from: Current --> Improved for each of your listed reasons.

Will proposed a great idea! A series of Tweets covering a ~3 month plan with baby steps for each of The Advisor’s issues at hand.

LNow @LNow_

@the_advisor_btc There is also developers turnover that can easily diminish dev adoption

A good sub thread about developer turnover and how to fix this was proposed.

axopoa.btc @axopoa

@the_advisor_btc Fair points! Multiple teams are working on these. I believe it's not that easy & might take some time. Retention is also a significant point. Sometimes I feel like we have new "waves" of fresh users/dev periodically but only a small part will stay active / build on Stacks

SatsRunner @SatsRunner

@the_advisor_btc I would add: -Communication is key. Let the community know how progress is coming along with miner decentralization. -If someone attends a Clarity camp and get a job after, BRAG about it! - @DLC_Link @consoledao @NeoSwap_ai @TRAJANapp will have newcomer appeal. Support them!

More issues to address.

Vikram Ashoka @vashoka

@the_advisor_btc Love the project, but outside of stacking the evidence that STX main chain is capable of creating superior/broader proprietary use cases for BTC vs other chains/layers has been disappointing. So much discourse around SOL like UI, more discussions @TychoOnnasch is providing

Great sub thread started by investor Vikram Ashoka on areas for improvement. Marketing and Investor Relations! PoR is working to address this specific concern.

POR MISSED THIS LAST WEEK: DARTMOUTH PROVIDED A FULL IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF STACKS

Block49 Capital @Block49Capital

An introductory to @Stacks and its ability to bring smart contracts to Bitcoin. An analysis by Dartmouth Blockchain @Voxchain

Block49 Capital @Block49Capital

This is part of a full analysis by Dartmouth Blockchain @Voxchain. View their full report on @Stacks here: medium.com/@dartmouthbloc… /19

medium.comStacks — Building on Bitcoin.TLDR; use our link below to access the full Stacks report.

How many of the elite universities are actively teaching/applying Stacks, Clarity language, and building on Bitcoin?

Pomeranian - Proof of Research (PoR) @BowTiedPomer

Elite universities teaching students about @Stacks…What’s the count now? @Princeton @MIT @Stanford @dartmouth Am I missing any?

Block49 Capital @Block49Capital

This is part of a full analysis by Dartmouth Blockchain @Voxchain. View their full report on @Stacks here: https://t.co/QWn0bMWyPd /19

HACKREAD IS CATCHING ON…IF BITCOINERS WANT BITCOIN TO MAKE IT BIG, THEY NEED DEFI

Ragnarly.btc @RagnarLif

"Bitcoin is, after all, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency with by far and away the largest market capitalization. Yet most of these assets are sitting idle. By bringing BTC to DeFi, the opportunities for Bitcoin holders could be transformational."

hackread.comIf Bitcoiners Want Bitcoin To Make It Big, They Need DeFiFollow us on Twitter @HackRead - Facebook @ /HackRead

Great to see publications grok what everyone in the Stacks ecosystem has been working towards!

MORE DAVID MARCUS NEWS: MIT’S TADGE DRYJA JOINS MARCUS FIRM LIGHTSPARK!

David Marcus @davidmarcus

Thrilled to welcome @tdryja to @lightspark! Tadge co-invented the Lightning Network alongside Joseph Poon and invented Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs), two incredibly significant contributions to #Bitcoin. Welcome to the team, Tadge!

Talk about an absolutely massive pickup in the free agent market! David Marcus hired Lightning Network co-founder & Discreet Log Contracts (DLC) inventor, Tadge Dryja of MIT, to help Marcus build on bitcoin. PoR is super excited to learn how Stacks plans to collaborate with this future Bitcoin juggernaught!

ALFA DROP: A NEW WEEK A NEW DEVELOPMENT – ALEX NEVER STOPS SHIPPING!

fiftyeightandeight.btc @5eightandeight

👀

Are we about to see an EVM compatible subnet for ALEX? Metamask + Stacks = Ethereum Liquidity & ALEX best-in-class DEX. Can’t wait to learn more!

NEOSWAP OFFERING SELF-HOSTING PARTIES WHERE HOSTS EARN 50% OF THE REVENUE SPLIT

NeoSwap @NeoSwap_ai

Self-hosting on NeoSwap is now open to the public! You can now create and host your own parties, and share 50% of the revenue split. There are a limited number of slots available, once filled we will create a waitlist. For more, visit our discord server neoswap.cc/discord

Don’t sleep on NeoSwap. Revenue splitting is an interesting strategy to grow NeoSwap into the Facebook Marketplace of NFTs.

BORED ELON & LEEOR.BTC HOST A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THEOPETRA FOUNDER MEL ANCIC

Theopetra ♟ @TheopetraLabs

https://t.co/5gjSa8NL2h

This was a great conversation hosted by Bored Elon & Leeor.btc concerning Theopetra and their upcoming launch. Real Yield and Real World Assets “on-chain” will be one of the driving narratives in the next bull market. Keep an eye out!