Stacks Launches Second Bitcoin Staking Bond with 500 BTC Capacity
Stacks (STX) has launched its second Bitcoin staking bond, known as Bond 2, with a total capacity of 500 BTC. The majority of this capacity is allocated to Stacking DAO, the longest-running liquid staking protocol on the Stacks network. Participants who stake their Bitcoin through Stacking DAO receive stBTC, a liquid token that allows holders to earn Bitcoin rewards while maintaining flexibility for other financial applications on Stacks.
The bonding period for Bond 2 is set to lock on October 8, 2026, with earnings beginning on October 10, 2026. This follows the success of the Stacks Genesis Bond in September, which sold out with 230 BTC enrolled from participants like UTXO Management, 21shares, and HashKey Cloud. New custody providers, including Anchorage Digital, are integrating Bitcoin staking solutions, paving the way for larger institutional allocations in future bonds.
Muneeb Ali, Founder of Stacks and CEO of Stacks Labs, highlighted the innovation of Bitcoin staking bonds, drawing parallels to traditional Treasury bonds. He noted that while Bitcoin traditionally earned no yield while idle, staking has made it productive. Bond 2 allows staked Bitcoin to double as collateral, enhancing capital efficiency in Bitcoin capital markets.
Holders can stake their Bitcoin with Stacking DAO to receive stBTC, which can then be pledged on Zest Protocol to borrow USDC. This process enables the underlying Bitcoin to continue earning staking rewards. Tycho Onnasch, Core Contributor at Stacking DAO, emphasized that stBTC addresses the lack of an efficient capital economy for Bitcoin, allowing holders to maintain liquidity while earning yield.
Bond 2 marks the first significant test of Bitcoin's role in capital markets as productive capital. Most of the bond is held as stBTC, providing insights into how staked Bitcoin is deployed and how demand behaves. This data will inform future capacity sizing and the transition to an open, auction-based model planned for PoX-6. Core contributors are also exploring additional uses for staked BTC, including self-custodial Bitcoin lending.
Bitcoin holders can participate in Bond 2 through Xverse and Stacking DAO, with full details available at stacks.co/bitcoin-staking. Stacks continues to grow its Bitcoin staking capacity bond by bond, offering both whitelisted self-custodial bonding for institutional participants and pooled liquid staking for the general public.