2/ Stacks Key Plan for 2026
Stax recently released its 26-year plan, outlining key milestones for the next 26 years. Here are my thoughts:
A. Self-Custodial Bitcoin Staking
Stax's biggest initiative is allowing users to stake Bitcoin directly on the L1 platform. Currently, institutions, wealthy individuals, DAT companies, and even some ETFs would love to use a secure, profitable platform for BTC, but bridging to L2 and transferring ownership are too risky for them. Therefore, the idea is to allow them to directly own and stake BTC on the L1 platform, thereby attracting more BTC to Stacks. There will definitely be demand for this.
But what I want isn't for institutions to just sit back and collect interest while holding their BTC. They need to directly contribute funds, provide LP, and otherwise contribute to liquidity. That's how I envision BTCFi. I don't want them to just sit back and receive money. I think the current narrative of self-custody activating the ecosystem "for some reason" is missing that part.
B. Bitcoin Unbolt
If you deposit sBTC into Hermetica with one click, Hermetica will issue a token called hBTC using that sBTC as collateral, and you can use it in various Stacks DeFi applications to generate yield. This is my ideal scenario. I believe B should do better than A. I support Hermetica because I believe they're working hard.
C. Collaboration with Bitcoin DAT
This is an extension of A. Zest founder Tyco's plan to create a Bitcoin DAT in Europe is likely part of this plan. They say they want to attract many Bitcoin DAT companies based on A.
D. Introduction of USDCx
This has given Stacks a native stablecoin. It's much better than something like aeUSDC. I have a question about this. The reason we wanted a Tier 1 stablecoin was that it needed to be easy to move between exchanges and on-chain, but USDCx doesn't offer that convenience. Ultimately, bridging is required, so usability remains the same as it was during the Allbridge era. Users would only come to the on-chain platform if deposits and withdrawals were easy, but USDCx doesn't.
However, I believe this has enabled MMs to perform USDCx <> STX MMs. What aeUSDC couldn't do, USDCx can do. Recently, USDCx was issued in M units on the Stacks network, and I think it could help increase on-chain liquidity.
E. Bitcoin AI Agent
This initiative, like AIBTCDEV and x402, aims to create agents that directly trade sBTC for BTC.
🤔 Hmm... There aren't any on-chain users, so how can there be AI agents that use BTC? I think there's a long way to go. With users leaving in the first place, why bother developing a product? Looking at Stacks' track record, I think the chances of success are very low... haha
F. Private Self-Custody
Still, I think this is something worth looking forward to. It allows institutions and individuals to privately manage and transfer Bitcoin. I think this could be a feature that truly empowers those holding Bitcoin in the dark. I also think there's significant demand for the ability to move Bitcoin while protecting sensitive information. The recent Railgun and zCash trends are similar, aren't they?
However, I haven't seen any documentation on this technology yet, and I don't understand the concept, so I guess I'll have to wait for the details to be released.
If we organize these six factors, will we actually get 1 billion users to Bitcoin, as Munipp said? To reach 1 billion users, we absolutely need to listen to the voices of users. 🤔
See the full original text below!
www.stacks.co/blog/stacks-big-...
