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| title | description |
|---|---|
| Overview | Learn more about the Stacks blockchain |
Introduction
The Stacks 2.0 blockchain connects to Bitcoin for security and enables decentralized apps and predictable smart contracts. Stacks 2.0 implements a new mining mechanism called Proof of Transfer (PoX). PoX anchors to Bitcoin security and makes it possible to reward holders of Stacks (STX) tokens, the native token of the Stacks 2.0 blockchain, with bitcoins.
-> The Stacks 2.0 blockchain is open-source and available on GitHub: blockstack/stacks-blockstack.
Status
The Stacks 2.0 blockchain is in active development. While the final release ("mainnet") is in the works, you can already get familiar with Stacks 2.0 capabilities on the "testnet".
For more information on the testnet, have a look at this page:
[@page-reference | inline] | /stacks-blockchain/testnet
=> The health status of the Stacks 2.0 network can be reviewed using the status checker
Explorer
You can view accounts, blocks, transactions, and smart contracts broadcasted to the Stacks 2.0 blockchain using the Stacks 2.0 Explorer.
-> The Explorer consumes the Stacks 2.0 Blockchain API. You can use this public API for programmatic access to the blockchain.
Tutorials
[@page-reference | grid-small] | /stacks-blockchain/managing-accounts, /stacks-blockchain/sending-tokens, /stacks-blockchain/running-testnet-node
Capabilities
Clarity Smart Contracts
A Smart Contract is code running on the Stacks Blockchain that executes autonomously.
Smart contracts on the Stacks 2.0 blockchain are written in a new language called Clarity. This language gives developers a safe way to build complex smart contracts. It's main features are:
- Predictability: The Clarity language uses precise and unambiguous syntax that allows developers to predict exactly how their contracts will be executed
- Security: The Clarity language allows users to supply their own conditions for transactions that ensure that a contract may never unexpectedly transfer a token owned by a user
- No compiling: Contracts written in Clarity are broadcasted on the blockchain exactly as they are written by developers. This ensures that the code developers wrote, analyzed, and tested, is exactly what gets executed
-> The Clarity open-source project is supported by Blockstack and Algorand.
[@page-reference | inline] | /smart-contracts/overview
Stacks Mining
Mining is required to make the network trustworthy and secure, by verifying transaction information. Mining is the act of participation in the consensus mechanism of the Stacks 2.0 blockchain, called Proof of Transfer (PoX). To incentivize miners, who have to run mining software on their machine, they receive freshly minted Stacks (STX) tokens.
[@page-reference | inline] | /mining
Proof of Transfer (PoX)
Proof of Transfer (PoX) is the consensus mechanism that leverages the security and stability of Bitcoin to create new blockchains, without modifying the Bitcoin protocol.
PoX makes it possible to reward holders of Stacks Token (STX) with Bitcoin: instead of spending energy, Stacks miners transfer Bitcoin to holders of Stacks Token (STX) to mine blocks. An implementation of this is called Stacking.
Stacking
Stackers are Stacks (STX) Token holders who help secure the network by effectively acting as validators on the network, incentivizing honest behavior on the part of miners. Stackers have to lock up Stacks (STX) for a certain period of time. As a reward, Stackers receive the Bitcoin that miners transfer as part of Proof of Transfer (PoX).
-> Proof of Transfer and Stacking are in active development and are coming soon
Protocol specification
The Stacks 2.0 blockchain specification consists a set of proposals, called Stacks improvement proposals (SIPs). Each SIP is aimed at describing the implementation of a part of the Stacks 2.0 blockchain. Together, all proposals contain concise technical specifications of features or standards and the rationale behind it.
You can review the SIP folder to find all proposals. Reading through the SIPs will help understand the Stacks 2.0 details on a propotcol level.
-> See SIP 000 for more details about the SIPs process..