As 2025 is now officially wrapped up, Stacks closed the year as the leading Bitcoin layer by BTC deployed, one of the fastest-growing developer ecosystems, and delivered major Q4 releases including Dual Stacking and Circle’s USDC on Stacks.
Heading into 2026, new research and development signals a clear shift toward bootstrapping Bitcoin liquidity, scaling Bitcoin-native use cases, and apps expanding Bitcoin-secured earn and trading experiences.
Below is a snapshot of what to be excited about as Stacks enters its next phase.
🍿 Stacks 2026
Stacks R&D Update: Stacks will offer BTC holders a safe, self-custodial, BTC-denominated yield that can optionally increase with STX exposure. This introduces a new model for Bitcoin yield, while also creating a clear new staking-capacity use case for STX.
Stacks R&D Update: Scalable, trust-minimized payments. Bitcoin holders retain custody of their coins while transferring them on Stacks, unlocking improved scalability and reduced costs without compromising Bitcoin security assumptions.
USDC becomes fully operational in 2026: Following the late-2025 launch of USDC on Stacks, 2026 will see applications like Zest, Bitflow, and others fully integrate tier-1 stablecoin liquidity, incentivizing new capital flows into the Stacks ecosystem.
Stacks Endowment Grants Program: The Stacks Endowment has allocated a significant 2026 budget toward building out a Grants Program to support both existing and new builders on Stacks.
Stacks Accelerator: As part of the Endowment plans, Stacks will kick off an Accelerator Program, offering a new path for founders to scale companies built on Bitcoin.
Wormhole: Stacks’ Wormhole integration, expected to launch in early 2026, unlocks another seamless way to bring liquidity into the leading Bitcoin L2.
😋 Stacks Ecosystem 2026
Zest: Zest will release V2 in 2026, introducing better capital efficiency, higher caps, improved security, and smoother liquidation mechanics.
Granite: Granite, the gateway to Bitcoin liquidity, is aiming to continue shipping new features to include USDCx markets, the ability to stake positions, collateral repayment options, and more.
Hermetica: Hermetica has committed to releasing hBTC, an institutional-grade Bitcoin yield product made possible by Stacks in 2026.
Bitflow: Bitflow’s HODLMM, a concentrated liquidity engine designed to expand Bitcoin capital markets, is currently in beta and is expected to go live in early 2026.
AIBTCDEV: AIBTCDEV continues building Bitcoin-native AI agents and AI DAOs on Stacks. After releasing ERC-8004 on Stacks testnet, covering Bitcoin-secured identity and reputation, the protocol is targeting a 2026 mainnet launch.
Talent Protocol: Builder challenges focused on Stacks’ smart contract language Clarity will expand in 2026, enabling developers to build reputation and progress through on-chain activity on Bitcoin’s leading execution layer.
Stacks is a Bitcoin layer for smart contracts. It enables smart contracts and decentralized applications to use Bitcoin as an asset and settle transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. Stacks exists to unlock Bitcoin’s full potential as the largest, most valuable, durable, decentralized asset. Learn more here.