Stacks (STX) is an NFT ecosystem that utilizes the best of two worlds; it’s secured by the Bitcoin network while also on Bitcoin that leverages the scalability of the Ethereum network.

Bored Ape or pixelated Punk, there’s no denying the NFT movement & market roared to life in 2021. Although the mainstream is still not ready to embrace the technology, they have at least been able to notice it. For the most part, Ethereum (ETH), alongside the powerhouse marketplace OpenSea, has reaped the majority of the cash flow, eyeballs, and market-share — followed closely by the Solana (SOL) network.

Yet over in a much smaller part of the space, another blockchain is hosting a sub-renaissance of sorts: reviving, as it’s come to be known, the “digital-rock,” Bitcoin. An L-1.5 called Stacks (STX), is behind a recent flurry that “brings” NFTs to one of the most established chains.

There is a lot of debate about the technical implementations of STX. With obvious storage constraints like the block size, it’s not accurate to say Stacks allows for building on top of Bitcoin as much as Stacks is secured by Bitcoin.

Perhaps not so surprising, this debate has attracted the ire both of the majority of Ethereum-ites and the small but vocal Bitcoin Maxi crowd — many of whom ridicule altcoinery and bitcoin-affinity marketing. It’s ironic that Blockstream employees who work on the Liquid Network (which is a great product by itself) are the ones receiving the most criticism.

If the past few months are any indication, Stacks has clearly ignored these criticisms & done what every developer-heavy project should do best: built.

Stacks (STX) NFTs: A Quick Look

Courtesy of the StacksOnChain data analytics site, a quick overview of the last few three months paints a picture of relatively fast-paced NFT activity:

1. 50+ Projects Have Launched On Over 3 Marketplaces
2. 5+ Projects Have Now Raised Over $100K Through Mints
3. 1 Project Has Now Crossed $2M In Secondary Sales

For a chain that only fully launched (or re-launched, depending on your perspective) in early 2021, this flurry of Q3 on-chain activity is nothing to scoff at. Although Ethereum and its L2’s (Polygon etc..) undoubtedly surpass the NFT activity at Stacks, it is worth considering the momentum Stacks has enjoyed in onboarding both more conservative maxi-Bitcoiners and competing Eth/Sol users:

# Of Active Stacks Addresses Since 2.0 Launch

The number of active Stacks addresses jumped from a weekly average of ~150 active addresses to a magnitude of growth (~1,500 weekly average) from May 2021 to November 2021. This 10x has garnered attention outside of a tight-knit Stacks community.

Who makes up the current ecosystem of technology?

The Stacks Ecosystem

Stacks is more diverse than Ethereum, which is heavily dominated and controlled by one marketplace. The Stacks ecosystem has three main marketplaces. The launched collections are similar to other chains and vary in quality and community. We’ll be quick to introduce you to the three core marketplaces as well as a few of the most popular collections.

Byzantion

First alphabetically is the brainchild duo Obsidian.btc and Plutus.btc. Although the market volume is lower than the other markets, Byzantion has recently updated its front-end and launched new features like the ability to shop on all three markets.

Stacks Arts

Stacks Arts is the market leader in volume (by a large extent), and positions itself as the marketplace for high-curation. The selection process is a bit hazy due to unclear guidelines and an unknown founder. Those who make it through the process usually have a mint-out, followed by heavy secondary market sales.

STXNFT

Incontrovertibly the most powerful SEO name brand, STXNFT is second in market volume but built the perfect mousetrap. STXNFT was first to allow users to view all NFTs under a single address. But, even more important, Jamil.btc, the sole founder of STXNFT, allowed users to transfer NFTs easily from one address to the next.

These features are not only unique to STXNFT, but also allow you to mint NFTs in other Stacks tokens like MiamiCoin & the recently launched NewYorkCityCoin.

The Top STX NFT Collections

Now that we have the marketplaces in place, let’s get into the most popular collections within the Stacks ecosystem. There are many other projects, but we have chosen to focus on the most popular.

Screenshot Taken Nov. 16th 2021

Megapont Ape Club

As you can see, Megapont Ape Club or MAC (as it is known on Twitter) is the dominant gorilla in this room. With $2M in market sales volume in under a month & a heavy presence on all three marketplaces, they’re the most heavily traded NFT on Stacks. It’s easy to see why they are #1. They have some amazing pixel art and a fascinating roadmap (both below).

AMC #1215 & #1634 — Currently Going For 2,450 STX & 2,460 STX Respectively

The Explorer Guild

A graduate of the Stacks Accelerator, The Explorer Guild is the NFT fund-raising mechanism for the Sigle writing platform. Sigle, a web3 competitor to Medium hosts blogs and pays writers in BTC. While MAC has a run-away amount of trading volume, The Explorer Guild holds the record for the most mint volume coming in at a total of $500K.

The Explorer Guild also packs its NFT full of utility, such as a premium newsletter or custom domains. Sigle ensures that Explorer Guild owners receive continuous value.

Explorer #514 & #1406 — Currently Going For 100 STX & 100 STX Respectively

Bitcoin Birds

Abraham Finlay, a passionate ornithologist, is the creator of

Bitcoin Birds. A 12-year-old with a fervor for taking care of his winged friends, Bitcoin Birds aspires to be a feel-good collection.

With a very tight supply of only 400 birds (versus ~2,500 collection size of the other three), Bitcoin Birds was one of the earliest projects on Stacks to successfully mint out in a matter of hours. Bitcoin Birds has a wonderful charity-driven mission and real-world positive effects on its roadmap, such as their First Wildlife Project.

Bitcoin Birds #367 & #343 — Currently Going For 2,600 STX & 2,000 STX Respectively

Bitcoin Badgers

Named after the Bitcoin Honey Badger meme, this last collection is a collection giffy Badgers that reminds of Cool Cats art-style.

This team is focused on the metaverse angle, as evident by their roadmap, Discord and Twitter activity. Bitcoin Badgers appear to be making progress in this space, starting with 3D models and ending with an immersive virtual Reality NFT gallery. Only time will tell if they move towards a Somnium Space/Decentraland competitor.

Interestingly, despite the strong secondary sales, Bitcoin Badgers is the only collection in this list with an unfinished mint (per its website, the 2nd & final half start around Dec. 3rd/4th).

Final Thoughts: How Stacks (STX) is Bringing the NFT Revolution to the King

Understandably, the numbers mentioned short seem diminutive relative to the latest Beeple or Bored Ape Yacht Club sale, yet it’s worth stressing that Stacks is an ecosystem worth watching. Recall that this activity is within the first seven months of launch & amidst a particularly bad USA on-boarding process (listed on a single exchange with a 10-day withdrawal period– OkCoin).

Stacks is not perfect. A single search will yield salient counter-arguments, from introducing its token (aka Bitcoin) to having a VC presale. It’s still in its infancy stage and right in the middle two great principles: the stability of Bitcoin and the increased flexibility of Ethereum.