What is Stacks? Your way to better internet
No matter who you are and what you do — as an internet user — you should protect your privacy. Here comes Stacks which extends the design of Bitcoin to enable smart contracts and decentralized apps.
Not sure what smart contract is? Never heard of DApps? Let’s go for a ride. I’ll show you where to start. It might be a long run but it’s worth it. There is THE better internet at the finish line. Ready?
First thing you should know as an aware internet user is that any decentralized system is better than centralized. Even simple application. Why? It’s data is not susceptible to technical problems and malicious attacks. Moreover it provides transparency. When it’s based on blockchain we can call it DApp.
What does DApp need? Fuel distributed through a tokenized system. Those tokens are created through the use of smart contracts that allow for the creation of trustless protocols. It’s an easiest way for two entities to make commitments via blockchain. What is more they do not have to know or trust each other.
Stacking Stacks… tricky, huh?
So… what is Stacks? It’s layer-1 blockchain that connects to Bitcoin and brings smart contracts and decentralized apps to it. While working on Stacks platform each DApp is natively integrated with the security, stability, and economic power of Bitcoin.
But ok.. what if you’re not building (D)Apps (yet)? Feel free to test it. You can try them here.
If you think that’s it, well… it’s not even half. By participating in Stacks ecosystem you can earn Bitcoin. It’s called Stacking.
You can provide a valuable service to the network by locking up tokens for a certain time. To do this you should know the difference between stacker and miner.
STX Mining is how new STX tokens are minted, and how the Stacks chain and network makes progress.
STX miners get newly minted STX, transaction fees, and Clarity contract execution fees of each block. They express the cost of mining in BTC and spend BTC to participate in leader election.
STX holders participate in Stacking. Every time a new block is mined on the Stacks chain, the protocol sends the BTC committed by miners to Stackers as a reward for adding value to the network.
If you are ready for change — learn how to become a STX Holder. There is a community called Freehold that can help you. Visit https://joinfreehold.com/ and check what you are missing.
“This isn’t asking people to do MORE than they already are necessarily, it’s making it possible for them to benefit from the success of what they build”
