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Stacks community approves PoX-5 Bitcoin staking hard fork

The PoX-5 upgrade is targeted for around July 29 at Bitcoin block 907,740, with paired BTC and STX locks earning Bitcoin-denominated yield.

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The Stacks community approved SIP-045, its Bitcoin staking upgrade, with more than 99% of votes cast in favor, according to The Defiant. The proposal sets up a hard fork targeted for around July 29 at roughly Bitcoin block 907,740.

SIP-045, formally titled PoX-5: Bitcoin Staking and Emission Schedule Alignment, is designed to let participants lock BTC in a timelocked contract on Bitcoin's base layer under their own keys, then pair it with locked STX to earn yield paid in bitcoin. The mechanism uses Bitcoin-side verification through an SPV proof and avoids a custodian or trusted bridge, with commitments for roughly six months and principal intended to return in full when the timelock expires.

The upgrade also passed alongside SIP-044, which includes Clarity 6 and new staking post-conditions. The Defiant reports the Stacks contract verifies the Bitcoin lock using OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY and sets a yield structure aimed around an approximate 3% APY in BTC for paired bonds, while STX-only stackers receive 85% of the excess and a 15% reserve is built to help buffer shortfalls.

The upgrade would also reverse an April emissions cut, restoring the STX coinbase to 1,000 STX per Bitcoin block from 500, a supply increase tied to the staking mechanism. The vote itself did not move the STX token meaningfully in the immediate aftermath, The Defiant said, with STX trading at $0.144, down 13% in 24 hours, against Bitcoin's 1.9% decline.

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