TESTNET UPDATE: We have now entered the final phase of the Stacks 2.0 testnet: Xenon.

Instead of using the Bitcoin regtest, Xenon is integrated with the primary BTC testnet.

This is a key part of hardening the Stacks 2.0 network ahead of the mainnet launch.

https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1331686588686995458

Stacks Pakistan has kicked off the worldwide Stacks Chapters program. We're excited to welcome the team to the ecosystem and look forward to seeing what this chapter builds!
https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1334586375627132929

JUST IN: Summary of new legal memo details anticipated change of status of Stacks (STX) cryptocurrency to a non-security upon Stacks 2.0 launch.

This change would permit STX trading in the U.S. on non-securities crypto exchanges.

https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1335972550560669698

BREAKING: OKCoin expects to be the first to list STX tokens in the US!

In addition to the STX listing, OKCoin plans to support Stacks 2.0 as a launch partner and offer BTC rewards via Stacking once mainnet goes live.

OKCoin will play a key role in completing the STX historic compliance journey by giving US-based purchasers secondary-market access to STX for the very first time.

https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1336659651983597568

On the latest episode of "On the Brink," Muneeb chats with Castle Island Ventures General Partner, Nic Carter about the launch of Stacks 2.0 and its evolution from a securities offering to a freely tradable instrument in the U.S. They also cover Bitcoin-based smart contracts on Stacks 2.0.

https://twitter.com/nic__carter/status/1336693063004151811

JUST IN: The Stacks 2.0 whitepaper draft has been released! The paper gives an overview of the Stacks 2.0 blockchain design, connection to Bitcoin, and further technical details. This paper can serve as a helpful go-to resource for anyone in the community, as well as a helpful onramp for those first getting oriented with the Stacks ecosystem.
https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1338570059187417090?s=20

Excited to announce that Stacks 2.0 is now feature complete! The first GitHub code commit that started the Rust implementation of Stacks 2.0 was in Nov 2018. Over the last 2 years, just the stacks-blockchain code repo saw 646k additions and 372k deletions over 5K+ commits. It’s an important landmark for our community. Cheers to all the hard work by Hiro PBC and Stacks Foundation engineers and open source contributors. More details: https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1338897834674941954?s=21

Union Square Ventures, a top US fund that was an early investor in Twitter, Coinbase, Twilio etc, just published their thesis for Stacks 2.0. It discusses how building smart contracts and apps on Bitcoin can be a model for future growth. USV said that "we are excited to support the launch of Stacks 2.0 through participating in the consensus algorithm." Full post: https://twitter.com/albertwenger/status/1339262016276541445?s=20

JUST IN: Blockstack PBC has officially changed its name to Hiro Systems PBC, marking an important milestone on the Stacks ecosystem’s road to decentralization.

Plans to change PBC’s name were originally announced in October, after the Stacks ecosystem branding was released.

Since then, PBC’s work on the Stacks 2.0 public infrastructure has been winding down—clearing the way for Hiro to pursue a narrowed focus on providing developer tools for the Stacks blockchain, and more broadly, the user-owned internet on Bitcoin.

https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1341401526783373321

Exciting news for the global Stacks community: A Stacks Chapter has launched in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region!

Stacks MENA will be led by Mohamed Abdou (CEO & Founder of Pravica) and the Pravica team, all long-time app developers and community leaders within the Stacks ecosystem.

Their initial focus will be on expanding education and awareness throughout the region by educating youths, developers, start-ups and enterprises through a variety of activities including partnerships, entrepreneurial events, summits, hackathons, and other activities.

https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1341410668428161024

We’re excited to welcome a new Asia-based Stacks entity: Secret Key Labs.

For their first launch, Secret Key Labs will be releasing a mobile STX wallet that enables users to transact STX, sign smart contract transactions from other apps, and participate in delegated stacking.

Founded by long-time Blockstack engineer, Ken Liao, Secret Key Labs will focus on mobile and desktop app solutions that enable authentication, transactions, and management of digital assets on Stacks 2.0.

https://twitter.com/blockstack/status/1341422967780036610

We're just 15 days away from mainnet! Read Diwaker's post, "Path to Stacks 2.0 Mainnet" to find out what to expect between now and January 14th.
https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1344374557327687681

The full schedule for the Stacks 2.0 mainnet launch event has just been published and it's 🔥.

Register now: https://stacks2.com/register

We're thrilled to be around the corner from mainnet launch, but this is just the start of the journey. To that end, there are a few things we want early adopters of Stacks to keep in mind when upgrading to the 2.0 network, and we've outlined those areas below. Please see the brief summary in the blog noted here and jump to any specific topic for further details:
https://twitter.com/Stacks/status/1347667712193998853

Stacks 2.0 activation reached miner threshold this morning. We're 572 Bitcoin blocks away from launch, the count down has started putting launch at Thur Jan 14th approx noon. See details: https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1347926807765516289?s=20

As we detailed on January 9th, Stacks 2.0 reached miner activation. It is now estimated that the full blockchain state from Stacks 1.0 will automatically transfer to Stacks 2.0 sometime on Wednesday, January 13th (Eastern Time). Read the full launch details: https://twitter.com/Stacks/status/1348632680179634178

UPDATE: An earlier version of the launch details post included a block timeline that was putting the launch earlier than Thur Jan 14th given faster than expected Bitcoin blocks. The block heights were adjusted to stick with the expected Thur Jan 14th launch and to allow more time for Stacks 1.0 transactions to come through, given the timelines we had projected earlier.
https://blog.stacks.co/stacks-2-launch-details

After 2+ years of development and ~8 months of testing, the Stacks 2.0 mainnet is scheduled go live later this week! The high-level launch process is similar to what was first proposed back in November and we shared a more granular plan two weeks ago. Read further details on the forum post linked here: https://twitter.com/Stacks/status/1348729461127184386

Stacks 1.0 has stopped processing further transactions. All state, including accounts and balances, will be automatically included in the Stacks 2.0 genesis block.

For those wondering about exchanges and custody providers, please note that all existing STX holdings, whether on an exchange or otherwise, will convert from Stacks 1.0 to Stacks 2.0 once the Stacks 2.0 mainnet goes live. Binance and KuCoin have recently signaled their support for the Stacks 2.0 upgrade, but users with STX on other exchanges or custody providers should refer to updates from those respective exchanges and custody providers on how the network upgrade might impact them (if at all).

For what to expect on the Stacks side, please go through the guide linked here: https://twitter.com/muneeb/status/1349051291520151552?s=20

🛠 Hiro and Skynet of SiaTechHQ are teaming up on a bounty to support collaboration between the Stacks and Skynet protocols.

💰 Money bag $2,000 will be rewarded to the best tutorial that integrates Skynet with Clarity smart contracts.

✅ Check out the bounty: https://blog.stacks.co/stacks-plus-skynet#bounty

💥 JUST IN: Blockdaemon to support Stacks on road to Stacks 2.0 Mainnet.

More details here: https://blockdaemon.com/blog/blockdaemon-supports-stacks-on-road-to-stacks-2-0-mainnet/