Stacks: A New Dawn

The discussion around the roles of all professionals is a never-ending debate. Thus, the grooming of young minds starts from a young age, as the foundation of most, if not all, professions is setup in their minds. The roles of state institutions along with their peripheries, technical and artistic occupations become the primary target of people of all age and genders. The origin of this system and its ideas, stems from what mankind has learnt in the past.

But the twenty first century demands an update to the existing system. And an update to the system is impossible without an update in the mindset. As the role of all occupations is stressed upon, a solid position is held by entrepreneurs. Although, the idea of carving out a business entity by innovation and critical thinking does not hold much weight in the eyes of most academics. These individuals rise above the ordinary and look upon the society to see its problems, and then find viable alternatives for the in-use tools. The forward march of humanity is dependent upon imagination, the ability to think what does not exist. And then through sheer determination and force of character, make possible what seems impossible in the eyes of the ordinary.

Entrepreneurs, the people who thrive on chaos, look beyond the obvious and free themselves from the mold of the society to fly higher than the ones before them. These individuals are leaders and inspire others to act. Not only do they become inspiration for many with their work, but leave behind legacies that force the unmotivated souls to act to the best of their powers.

Stacks is a similar tale of innovation, grit, commitment and a dream to expand beyond national borders. As the world realizes the potential and growing demand for Web 3.0 and its tools, Stacks made its presence known by introducing an environment that brings the users close to the blockchain giant and market leader, Bitcoin.

Dr. Muneeb Ali, CEO of Stacks, came forward with the idea of a user-based internet when he published his PhD thesis from Princeton University. With the publishing of Trust-to-trust Design of a New Internet in 2017, Dr. Ali brought the idea of an internet model that would free the users from the monopoly of this data-centered social media era, whereby users are reduced to merely a tool of data extraction.

With references from platforms like OpenBazaar, which was inspired from DarkMarket, Dr. Muneeb’s paper paved way for the adoption of a completely decentralized network.

The thesis soon became a startup by the name of Blockstack, and now, Stacks. Stacks has introduced its own layer on Bitcoin, which opens the door of blockchain development for its users using its own language, Clarity. While Clarity provides a platform for the development of smart contracts, it integrates itself with an online wallet called Stacks wallet. With the operations of Hiro systems, another startup of Dr. Muneeb, the Stacks wallet runs on Stacks Tokens (STX).

The development becomes possible, as the developers hone their skills on Clarity, use STX for the deployment of their smart contracts and become a part of the Bitcoin environment. This brings some key components of the Web 3.0 to light; an open-source cryptocurrency allows the working of a new layer that uses its own coin (or tokens) to bring developers into the environment. This, in turn, paves way for new smart contracts to keep the system moving forward and continuously expanding. Not only this, the decentralization makes sure that no user data is kept for profits, and the blockchain is made solid and safe by its distributed ledger tech.

The world still lies deep in the world of the corporate giants that run attention-centered websites and apps, which work solely for the purpose of exchanging data for monetary gains. But the likes of Stacks open the doors of innovation and provide a solid case for those who look to free themselves from limitations of current mindsets. This thinking will also act as a stepping stone, as mankind looks to march towards an online world that revolves around the users, and the users alone.

Written By: Humza Noor