Context and next steps for the Stacks community

Earlier this month, the Stacks Labs product team published the litepaper “Unlocking Sustainable Bitcoin Yield on Stacks,” authored by Andre Serrano and Jesse Soslow, to introduce the key ideas and economic model. This new program aims to attract more Bitcoin liquidity to Stacks and expand DeFi use cases.

Today, the pilot of the program was launched, which includes the first rewards contracts and a user web app for enrollment and tracking. In the coming weeks, Stacks Labs will collect data and feedback for future improvements to the program.

Dual Stacking is a mechanism that enables participants to earn BTC-denominated rewards using sBTC (a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset on Stacks). In practice, BTC holders could mint sBTC, deploy it into approved contracts or DeFi positions, and earn Bitcoin yield. STX holders could then pair STX with sBTC to boost that BTC yield through a curve designed to encourage broad participation rather than concentration.

This model is not part of consensus and does not alter Proof of Transfer (PoX). It leverages existing architecture; no new trust assumptions or consensus changes are required.

It’s not a finalized protocol upgrade, nor is it a governance-approved change to Stacks consensus. This is a pilot, hosted by Stacks Labs, meant to gather data and community feedback. Participation is optional, and this phase should be viewed as the first in a series of iterations, meant to align incentives to make Stacks the most symbiotic Bitcoin L2. Any future move to make elements of Dual Stacking a part of consensus would require a full SIP proposal, open discussion, and a community vote. At launch, Dual Stacking rewards will come from Stacks entities who volunteer their Stacking rewards (earned via PoX) to Dual Stacking participants as sBTC.

This first stage is about learning, not yield optimization. Success is defined by:

• A smooth, transparent product experience where users can test the model and share data-driven feedback.
• Clear community input on how BTC-denominated rewards and STX pairing interact in practice.
• Initial metrics that demonstrate whether BTC capital is flowing in and how user behavior trends.
• A public feedback loop that signals whether the community wants to explore consensus integration later.

In short, success means clarity: understanding how the model performs, what participants value, and where it may need refinement.

Labs will operate this pilot within the current sBTC infrastructure. The current sBTC Rewards program is sunsetting and participants will have the option to transition into Dual Stacking to continue earning BTC-denominated payouts (in sBTC).

Over the coming weeks, Labs will host community feedback sessions to gather early impressions and discuss parameters like reward weights and boost mechanics. These sessions will inform whether adjustments are needed before any proposal moves toward formal governance. If, at a later stage, a consensus change is considered, the process will follow the standard SIP framework: proposal, discussion, refinement, vote.

Dual Stacking is an novel mechanism under active testing and a potential step toward sustainable Bitcoin yield on Stacks, but not yet a protocol change. The purpose of this pilot is to validate the model, collect real-world input, and give the community an informed foundation for any later decisions.