January 14th, 2021
Mainnet is Live! What Stacks 2.0 Means for You
Today, the Stacks 2.0 mainnet went live! This is a huge milestone for the Stacks ecosystem, which brings more blockchain functionality through Clarity smart contracts, an upgraded consensus mechanism through Stacking that rewards STX holders, and more community ownership of the blockchain, consensus, and the future of the protocol.
Now that mainnet is live, there are more ways than ever to contribute to our mission of building a user owned internet.

Community-Run Blockchain
Decentralization and the launch of Stacks 2.0 officially kicked off with the first 20 miners accepting the new Stacks 2.0 block. That means that like the Bitcoin blockchain, the Stacks blockchain is now run by independent miners. Community members across the world can join as Stacks Miners to support the growth and security of the network over time. Future upgrades and forks will be in the hands of the mining community, creating new avenues to evolve the blockchain over time. Miners use BTC but do not need special hardware, making it even more accessible to all.

Get started with the Mining bot here: https://github.com/Daemon-Technologies/docs

Community Led Governance
Stacks 2.0 is a win for decentralized governance. Future blockchain updates and upgrades will use the same Stacks Improvement Proposal (SIPs) process that launched mainnet. SIPs can be created and shared through our open governance process, creating new pathways to blockchain improvements and governance over network upgrades. As the network grows, there will be more ways for researchers, developers, and community members to scope and collaborate on new SIPs.

To contribute to governance and the SIPs process, join on Github: https://github.com/stacksgov

STX Rewards Fuel Innovation
STX holders can now Stack STX to earn BTC rewards. By participating in Stacking consensus, you can earn BTC that can go towards building new businesses, funding new projects, and creating value for holders. Entrepreneurs and users alike will benefit from built-in economics in the protocol that the can use as a funding mechanism for new ideas.

To learn more about participation in Stacking, visit: https://stacks.org/stacking

STX Trading and Access in the US
We’re excited to open US trading for STX on the OKCoin exchange, the first STX exchange listing for US persons. STX are also supported by a growing number of partners worldwide for trading, custody, wallet access, and stacking support.

Here is the full list of where the STX token is currently supported: https://stackstoken.com/

More Grant Funding for Research, Governance, and Beyond
We, at the Stacks Foundation, are looking forward to continuing our work on research, governance, and education to ensure the long-term sustainability of the stacks ecosystem. We're particularly excited about working alongside the stacks community to build and fund new ideas that grow and improve the ecosystem towards our mission of a user owned internet. It takes a very diverse set of talents and skills to bring this mission to life, and we’re excited to keep building paths for every member to contribute.

We’re continuing to work on finding and funding the best ideas in the following categories:

  • Tools and Services
  • Education, Evangelism, and Collaboration
  • Core Protocol Development

Apply for a grant or contribute to a wishlist idea through our Grants program: stacks.org/grants

Get Involved
Stacks 2.0 is a huge global community and today’s launch means only more growth ahead. This is the perfect time to jump in to the Stacks Ecosystem, whether as a developer, a token holder or an end user. Join the conversation in Discord and start building.

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