Stake BTC and STX on Stacks

Stacking DAO is the staking hub for BTC and STX on Stacks. It offers four ways to earn through stBTC, stSTX, stSTXbtc, and native STX staking.

• stBTC: Deposit BTC or sBTC, earn auto-compounding Bitcoin yield, and remain liquid across Stacks DeFi.
• stSTX: Stake STX and compound rewards in STX while remaining liquid.
• stSTXbtc: Stake STX and earn BTC rewards, delivered as claimable sBTC.
• Native Staking: Stake STX and earn BTC with 0% fees and no smart-contract exposure.

The staking process yields BTC rewards, but they are processed in different ways based on the Stacking DAO service.

• stBTC: Bitcoin yield compounds automatically into the backing, so the stBTC/sBTC ratio grows over time. Your yield is included when you redeem.
• stSTX:BTC rewards are converted to STX and automatically placed in the smart contracts that back stSTX as the rewards arrive. A user's stSTX balance stays the same, but when redeeming, they get their deposited STX plus staking rewards.
• stSTXbtc: Rewards are earned in sBTC and distributed by PoX roughly weekly. They can be claimed at any moment.
• Native Staking: BTC yield builds up throughout the cycle and is distributed roughly weekly. You can claim it whenever you like as sBTC, or receive it as native BTC, directly in the app.

For stSTX, you can swap to STX anytime through Zest Swap for instant liquidity. Otherwise, for both stSTX and stSTXbtc you can use the Stacking DAO instant unstake option when enough idle liquidity is available; the traditional option takes up to 14 days to withdraw (the length of 1 staking cycle). By initiating the traditional withdrawal process on Stacking DAO, users will burn their LSTs and receive a temporary NFT that represents their withdrawal amount. Once the staking cycle is over, users can use the NFT to claim and withdraw their STX. For native staking, it's enough to perform an unstake transaction. The STX will unlock at the end of the cycle you are currently staked in, and your accrued BTC rewards remain claimable whenever you like. For stBTC, you can redeem for sBTC (principal plus yield) at any time, either instantly against idle liquidity for a small fee or via the standard cooldown withdrawal. Read the docs for further information on the withdrawal process.

STX is delegated to the best enterprise-grade Validators/Signers in Web3, with a track record of optimal node uptime and billions in assets under management. These Signers are responsible for running nodes while STX tokens are safely controlled by Stacking DAO smart contracts. The staked STX are evenly distributed among all Signers, helping to secure the Stacks network by bootstrapping a distributed set of Signers.

stSTX can be used across the Stacks DeFi ecosystem to earn additional yield and points. New integrations are constantly being added and can be viewed on the Stacking DAO site.

The live integrations are:

• Zest (https://www.zestprotocol.com)
• Bitflow (https://www.bitflow.finance)
• Arkadiko (https://arkadiko.finance)
• Hermetica (https://hermetica.fi)

stSTX, stSTXbtc, and stBTC can all be deposited as collateral on Zest to borrow other assets while they keep earning.

All three can also be swapped for instant liquidity at any time through Zest Swap.