Key Takeaways:
Stacks (STX), the largest Bitcoin layer by value deployed, saw its synthetic Bitcoin (sBTC) Total Value Locked (TVL) peak at $545 million during a strong first quarter for 2026. The network’s DeFi ecosystem now holds $121 million, according to a Q1 report citing data from DefiLlama, as institutional integrations and developer activity gain momentum.
"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, said. "Stacks' first quarter of 2026 saw sustained growth for our Bitcoin yield products like Dual Stacking, as well as exciting new products going live."
The report detailed broad ecosystem growth, with actively deployed capital across Stacks DeFi protocols reaching $121 million. Zest Protocol leads with $75.9 million in TVL, followed by Granite at $26 million and StackingDAO with $20 million. The network has now surpassed 400,000 total created wallets, with 15% of them created in Q1, while daily transactions rose approximately 20% compared to 2025 averages.
The growth is underpinned by increasing institutional access and new financial products providing Bitcoin-native yield. With the recent removal of the sBTC deposit cap, Stacks is positioning itself as a primary destination for BTC holders to earn returns without leaving the Bitcoin ecosystem, a development supported by new integrations with Fireblocks, Circle, and BitGo.
The growth in TVL was driven by key protocol upgrades and launches. Zest Protocol, the largest lending protocol on any Bitcoin layer, launched its V2 upgrade in late February and saw its TVL hit $41 million within two days. It currently holds $75.9 million in deposits.
Other notable milestones include Bitflow's HODLMM upgrade, which processed $160 million in cumulative trading volume in its first two weeks, and Hermetica's new Bitcoin Earn Vault, which attracted over 15 BTC in early access deposits. AIBTC, an AI protocol on the network, has deployed over 150 autonomous agents that executed 8,700 transactions.
Several tier-1 integrations have expanded institutional access to Bitcoin DeFi on Stacks. Fireblocks announced support for the network, potentially opening access to its more than 1,800 institutional customers. Circle rolled out its USDC stablecoin on Stacks, making it the only Bitcoin L2 in Circle's xReserve program.
For investors seeking regulated exposure, Grayscale's Stacks Trust (STCK) began trading on OTCQB in late 2025, while the 21Shares Stacks Stacking ETP (ASTX) continues to trade on European exchanges. Core developers are now actively researching self-custodial Bitcoin staking, a product seen as the single largest opportunity to attract new capital to the network.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
