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Stacks Labs has published a technical whitepaper proposing a self-custodial Bitcoin staking mechanism designed to let BTC holders generate Bitcoin-denominated yield without moving funds to another chain, wrapping BTC into a synthetic token, or surrendering custody to a third party.
The proposal extends the existing Proof-of-Transfer (PoX) protocol, which has been in place since 2021. According to the whitepaper, PoX has already distributed more than 4,200 BTC in rewards to participants.
Stacks’ mechanism is intended to address limitations in current market offerings, which either require BTC to be moved off Bitcoin or introduce intermediary trust assumptions—risk vectors that the design of Bitcoin aims to avoid.
The launch is planned in two stages. The first phase, PoX-5, is described as a managed bootstrap period of approximately twelve months. During this period, the Stacks Endowment sets the capacity and yield parameters. Initial conditions target:
The second phase, PoX-6, is intended to remove permissioning and shift the determination of capacity, rates, and ratios to on-chain consensus via a blind auction. Both phases require community approval through the SIP governance process.
Muneeb Ali, founder of Stacks, said the mechanism “changes the calculus” for BTC holders by enabling them to earn yield on Bitcoin in a trustless manner while the token remains in its native place.
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