Stacks (STX) Closes Q1 2026 With $437M BTC TVL, 320 BTC Added to Bitcoin Staking Pilot
New York, New York, United States, April 27th, 2026, Chainwire
The leading Bitcoin layer by BTC deployed reports sustained capital inflows, tier-1 institutional integrations, and top-5 developer ecosystem growth.
The Stacks network closed Q1 2026 with $437M in sBTC TVL, following a peak of $545M during Q1. Stacks has emerged as the leading destination for Bitcoin yield, offering BTC holders native, on-chain returns without leaving the Bitcoin ecosystem. The sBTC deposit cap has been fully removed, meaning there is no longer an artificial ceiling on how much Bitcoin can flow into the network. The data comes from the Stacks Q1 2026 Ecosystem Snapshot, published on stacks.co, with metrics sourced from DeFiLlama, Nansen, and Electric Capital.
The Bitcoin staking pilot product now sees 320+ BTC in Q1 and has attracted over $100 million in total participation since its late 2025 launch. The product allows BTC holders to earn up to 10% APY in Bitcoin yield.
Capital actively deployed across Stacks DeFi protocols reached $121 million according to DeFiLlama, led by Zest Protocol at $75.9 million, Granite at $26 million, and StackingDAO at $20 million. Over 400,000 wallets have been created on the network to date, with 15% of those created in Q1 2026. Daily transactions rose approximately 20% compared to 2025 averages.
Stacks ranks as the fifth fastest-growing developer ecosystem according to Electric Capital’s Developer Report, leading all Bitcoin-focused projects in developer activity.
Institutional Infrastructure
Several tier-1 integrations were announced during the quarter. Fireblocks announced support for Stacks, expanding potential access to 1,800+ institutional customers for Bitcoin DeFi.
“Stacks’ first quarter of 2026 saw sustained growth for our Bitcoin yield products like Dual Stacking, as well as exciting new products going live such as Hermetica’s hBTC Vault and Zest’s Stacks Markets V2, who both give out additional BTC Yield opportunities. The continued evolution and growth of Stacks is providing a great home for people looking to survive the ups and downs of crypto” – Alex Miller, CEO of Stacks Labs.
Circle’s USDC rolled out on the network, making Stacks the only Bitcoin L2 in Circle’s xReserve program. BitGo provides institutional custody support for both BTC and sBTC.
Grayscale’s Stacks Trust (STCK) began trading on OTCQB in October 2025, becoming the first publicly quoted US investment product offering direct STX exposure. The 21Shares Stacks Stacking ETP (ASTX) continues to trade on European exchanges with automatic stacking reward compounding. STX remains listed on over 59 exchanges globally, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and Upbit.
Protocol Milestones
Zest Protocol launched its V2 upgrade in late February, reaching $41 million in TVL within two days. The protocol currently holds $75.9 million, making it the largest lending protocol on any Bitcoin layer by deposits. Bitflow’s HODLMM upgrade processed $160 million in cumulative trading volume within its first two weeks. Hermetica introduced a Bitcoin Earn Vault, with early access deposits exceeding 15 BTC. AIBTC deployed over 150 autonomous AI agents executing 8,700 transactions on the network.
Network and Governance
The 3.3.0.0.6 network upgrade shipped in March 2026, reducing daily chainstate growth by over 20% and improving block production consistency under load. SIP-034 improvements delivered up to 30X more network capacity, as reported by The Block.
The Stacks Treasury Committee approved a $27 million 2026 operating budget and a 25 million STX working-capital allocation, with priorities across engineering, security, network growth, and DeFi liquidity deployment. Stacks Labs was formed in Q4 2025 with Hiro CEO Alex Miller serving as Interim CEO.
What’s Ahead
Self-custodial Bitcoin staking is in active research and development, designed to allow BTC holders to earn yield without giving up custody of their Bitcoin. Core contributors are modeling designs and testing light implementations. This product represents the single largest capital attraction opportunity on the Stacks roadmap.
About Stacks
Stacks is the leading Bitcoin layer by BTC deployed, providing infrastructure for a growing range of Bitcoin-native applications. The network enables Bitcoin-native financial applications, from lending and borrowing to autonomous AI agents, all settled with Bitcoin finality. Learn more at stacks.co.