Stacks (STX), a smart contract protocol layer focused on creating DeFi apps on Bitcoin, is stacking up crypto investment funds as investors look to play the Bitcoin Ordinals narrative.
Bitcoin NFTs, also known as Ordinals, is the newest development in crypto, piquing investor interest. With over 200,000 Ordinals inscribed onto the Bitcoin blockchain, the innovation has effectively spiked network usage, transaction count, and block size.
Interestingly, Stacks’ (STX) focus on bringing DeFi to Bitcoin, has added to the Ordinals hype as investors anticipate the dawn of smart contracts on Bitcoin. The project’s token continues to record massive price gains this year, picking up on last week’s rally, surging by 24% in 24 hours to $0.9614 on February 27th.
Stacking Extra Ordinal Growth
Stacks’ STX token has been on a tremendous trajectory since Ordinals gained popularity. The project’s token is one of the market’s best-performing tokens this year, even when the broader market suffers from chops and low momentum.
Recently, Stacks’ STX token price has skyrocketed by 60% to $0.9614 over a seven-day rolling period since 20th February, according to CoinMarketCap. The demand for the token has significantly surged since the launch of the Ordinals protocol on January 21st.
Since January 21st, Stacks’ (STX) daily trading volume has skyrocketed from $4 million to $601 million – recording a 14,925% increase. Over the same period, the token’s market cap has surged from $370 million to $1.2 billion – gaining over 200%.
Stacks’ (STX) use of Bitcoin-compatible smart contracts has positioned it to take advantage of the hype surrounding Ordinals. According to experts, the token could return impressive yields thanks to its association with Ordinals, but how closely are the two protocols related?
Stacking Ordinals on Bitcoin
With over 200,000 Bitcoin Ordinals inscribed on the network and spending over $1.3 million in fees, there’s a lot of interest surrounding the new protocol, according to Dune analytics. The craze around Ordinals has led to an increase in the size of Bitcoin blocks, adding approximately 3.5 gigabytes of data to the network.
Moreover, the protocol has encouraged developers to build on the network, one of which is Stacks (STX). The platform is home to 21 decentralized applications (DApps) focused on Bitcoin NFTs. However, only three mention Ordinals, including Gamma, a marketplace for Bitcoin NFTs.
Gamma is the leading platform for Bitcoin Ordinals and NFTs. Interestingly, assets on the marketplace are priced in Stacks’ STX token. Stacks’ (STX) role as a means of payment for NFT transactions is one of the major reasons why the project’s token has shown great performance this year.
Additionally, the project has also announced a scheduled upgrade on March 20th. The Stacks 2.1 upgrade will improve the platform’s connection with Bitcoin and add major improvements to the layer-2 network.
The upgrade will lay the groundwork for subnets and optimize network speeds and scalability. Stacks 2.1 will also roll out the new consensus protocol, “Stacking 2.0.” Users will be able to lock up their tokens to secure the network and earn rewards.
The upgrade announcement could have also played a significant role in last week’s rally, as the network looks to add significant improvements.
On The Flipside
Bitcoin surged by 12% to an 8-month high amid the Bitcoin Ordinals craze.
Why You Should Care
Ordinals on Bitcoin have led to a tangible effect on the network, similar to Ethereum during the DeFi boom. The hype has led to investors cycling new money into Bitcoin and Ordinal-narrative tokens like Stacks (STX), potentially resurging the bull run with newfound strength.
Find out more about Bitcoin Ordinals:
Bitcoin NFTs: What Makes BTC JPEGs so Extra-Ordinal?