Bitcoin L2 network Stacks has launched the Nakamoto upgrade, which aims to increase transaction speed and prepare for the implementation of smart contracts. The upgrade separates Stacks' block generation schedule from Bitcoin and introduces a new way of producing blocks, using the proof-of-transfer consensus algorithm.
With this upgrade, users can destroy Bitcoin to mine Stacks blocks and receive rewards. Network operators have two weeks to implement the upgrade, after which a hard fork will be performed to complete the process.
Stacks aims to introduce greater utility, such as smart contracts and other DeFi-related features that use Bitcoin as the base layer. To this end, Stacks has also launched sBTC, a bridge asset that allows users to bridge their BTC into the Stacks economy. (CoinDesk)