📈 Stacks in October: Smart Contracts Up by 60%

November 02, 2022

When they go low, we go build. While the bear market is bullying the industry, good projects everywhere are putting in the hard work that will look like overnight success in the next bull run. October only further highlighted the Stacks community’s resolve, as captured by some of the top takeaways in Messari’s new report.

While “overall network usage was down, consistent with the broader market [,] Stacks continued to show strong signs of development, with smart contracts deployed growing by 60% QoQ.”

A special shout out is owed to the Clarity Residents from Whitelabel that are now opening their fifth Clarity Camp cohort and were key in the 30% growth in developers we noted last quarter. It’s great to see the developer growth numbers that we’re working toward manifest in these reports.

Up next

Stacks 2.1 is just around the corner. We’re keeping the timeline updated and there are plenty of places to jump into the latest updates via a meeting or working group. Take a peek at the community event calendar to get involved.

Let's dive in and review all the exciting work from October!

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🚀 Stacks 2.1

🙌 Featured News

⚖️ Governance + Security Updates

🏗️ Stacks Builders

🙌 Quick Hits

🥳 Events, Conferences, & Parties

Try decentralized apps built on Stacks, secured by Bitcoin. There are apps for finance, collectibles, blogging and many more.

🚀 Stacks 2.1 is Coming

As we gear up for Stacks 2.1, we know more questions will come up in anticipation of the coming upgrades. We've put together an updated timeline around code complete, testnet status, and the voting period for Stacks 2.1. Note: The dates provided are estimates and are subject to change as testing and other implementation efforts begin. This post will remain updated as we collect new information from core developers.

In the unending quest for utility, investors are looking for the best ways to put their bitcoin to work. A bevy of new upgrades, from Subnets to Continuous Stacking, brings richer functionality to the world's oldest cryptocurrency.

🙌 Featured News

Web3 Startup Lab's second cohort is now accepting applications. Join the Web3 Startup Lab community and accelerate your startup with guidance from industry experts and access to top investors in the space.

⚠️ Application deadline is November 7th - apply by November 5th for access to perks (even if you don't join the program!).

$STX Now Available on the Kraken Exchange

Xverse, the most advanced Web3 Bitcoin wallet, is pleased to announce integrations with Binance Connect, a leading global payment infrastructure provider backed by Binance. In addition to growing the…

Stay up to date with the latest Hiro product releases. In September we shipped a number of updates, including BNS updates for the Stacks API. Our team also continued to work toward code completion of Stacks 2.1.

⚖️ Governance + Security Updates

Despite the challenges of building in a bear market, the Stacks ecosystem has continued to grow. Below we’ve outlined our performance against the our Q3 Objective and Key Results (OKRs).

We’re introducing the Stacks Foundation objectives for Q4. The work we did in Q3 in combination with feedback from the community survey helped us set clear priorities for Q4.

We surveyed the most active founders, employees, and developers from over 50 companies building on Stacks. We asked them about everything, from the most pressing technical improvements to their ideas for new resources.

On September 19, 2022 we held the first Stacks Offsite with builders from the ecosystem to talk through technical priorities, share opportunities, and discuss the known challenges within the roadmap. =

In light of recent security reports via our Immunefi program, as well as congestion issues related to .BTC registrations, we took the opportunity to revisit our processes around detecting and communicating about the status of the Stacks blockchain.

Have you followed the new @stacksstatus Twitter handle yet? This new resource provides status updates for the Stacks blockchain layer. This account is managed by the Stacks Foundation with input from other entities and community members.

Consideration Advisory Boards (CABs) are part of an ongoing effort to further expand and refine the Stacks Improvement Proposal (SIP) process. For every SIP consideration, there is a CAB. The duty of the CAB is to utilize their expertise to judge the merit of a SIP.

55% of developers say that the bear market has increased their desire to build in Web3. Learn more from our latest survey of Stacks developers.

Let’s celebrate our Q3 successes as we look to the work ahead in Q4.

🏗️ Stacks Builders

We’re excited to announce the official launch of Zest Protocol’s testnet! Beginning 20th October 2022, users can start testing for earning a yield on their Bitcoin with Zest.

Built on Stacks, BlockSurveys providers users with a stack of tools and audiences for data collection with ownership, privacy, and security at an affordable cost. BlockSurvey recently launched a new feature called Owl Link, a linktree alternative built on Stacks. Use your .btc to claim a profile today.

Check out these exciting updates from the Web3 Startup Lab's first cohort!

Mohamed Abdou is the founder of Pravica, a Stacks company that provides private, secure, end-to-end encrypted communications tools. All Pravica products are based on decentralized identities that are secure on the Bitcoin network - ensuring that identity is owned and controlled only by the user.

Launching in October, Bridge will enable users to move wrapped USDC between the Stacks and Ethereum networks.

🥳 Events, Conferences, & Parties

On October 7th, Stacks Foundation hosted Bitcoin Unleashed: Builders Edition, a virtual event bringing together founders and developers to discuss all things building on Bitcoin. Attendees learned form industry leaders, built alongside the best developers in the space, and connected with fellow Bitcoiners form across the globe. All in, over 1,100 attendees tuned in between Hopin and YouTube.

This month, leaders, builders, and brilliant minds in Bitcoin came together for 3 days of learning, teaching, and inspiring the Bitcoin community. Bitcoin Amsterdam brought the Bitcoin community together on a global stage to learn and connect.

Check out the complete playlist of videos from the event here.

There needs to be a holistic approach to sustainability in the blockchain industry. And, finally, the focus seems to be converging on that cross chain collaboration for bolstering ReFi. In this virtual event, we heard from builders and advocates across blockchain communities all working towards a better future on blockchain.