Bitcoin L2 Stacks to Chart Post-Nakamoto Era with New Core Team

• Stacks is seeking to usher in a wave of adoption and innovation following its Nakamoto upgrade.
• Central to this acceleration effort is a newly unveiled team.
• The team has already hit the ground running.

Despite being the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and arguably the most secure network, Bitcoin ‘s limited programmability and scalability have seen it fall behind networks such as Ethereum and Solana in utility. These limitations have led to a proliferation of solutions seeking to unlock Bitcoin’s latent potential. One such solution is Stacks , a Bitcoin Layer 2 chain.

After completing its monumental Nakamoto upgrade, which bolstered transaction speeds and finality guarantees through greater integration with the base chain , the network has unveiled a new entity to usher in a wave of adoption and innovation.

Bitcoin L2 Labs Goes Live

Stacks seeks to usher in a wave of adoption and innovation following its Nakamoto upgrade. To this end, on Thursday, November 7, the project announced the launch of Bitcoin L2 Labs, a team with $20 million in funding dedicated to accelerating Stack’s core development.

Per a press statement, Bitcoin L2 Labs’ efforts will be directed towards streamlining the builders’ experience on Stacks, shipping faster upgrades, and developing ecosystem-wide roadmaps. The team will also support upcoming projects like sBTC, a long-anticipated proposed wrapped Bitcoin token on Stacks.

Bitcoin L2 Labs is headed by CTO Adriano Di Luzio, who formerly served as CTO for leading Layer 1 chain Algorand , and Head of Product Andre Serrano, who also serves as head of product at Stacks.

Luzio tipped Bitcoin L2 Labs’ efforts to “open up new possibilities” for Stacks.

"We're excited to bring a product-led approach to Stacks core development that will open up new possibilities for the Stacks layer, reduce friction, and streamline the developer experience. Our team is committed to accelerating the growth and adoption of Bitcoin L2 technology," he enthused in a statement.

Interestingly, Bitcoin L2 Labs appears to have already hit the ground running.

New Additions

According to the company’s statement, Bitcoin L2 Labs has already made five hires. Specifically, the firm has hired five full-time Rust developers to contribute to crucial Stacks projects such as sBTC and Clarity WASM.

Unsurprisingly, Stacks’ Bitcoin L2 Labs announcement has sparked significant excitement within the community as it promises to accelerate the network’s growth. This excitement has, however, yet to be reflected in the price of the network’s native token, which is largely trading flat at the $1.65 price point at the time of writing.

On the Flipside 

• Despite Stacks’ technological achievements in 2024, at current prices, STX is trading at a 2% loss year-to-date (YTD).
• With a TVL of only $95 million , DeFi on Stacks still has a long way to go before competing with leading Layer 1 chains like Ethereum and Solana, which boast billions in TVL.

Why This Matters

A dedicated team to streamline ecosystem development could go a long way in catalyzing DeFi activity secured and powered Bitcoin.

Read this for more on Stacks:
Bitcoin Layer-2 Stacks Integrates Asymmetric Research for Security

Preparation for Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is entering into high gear. Find out more:
Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Prep Gains Steam as Devs Unveil New Testnet