The Bitcoin Staking Genesis Bond Starts at Bitcoin Block 966,350

The Genesis Bond, the first Bitcoin Protocol Bond on Stacks, runs during reward cycle 143, starting at Bitcoin block 966,350 expected on September 10. Enrollment closes September 9, and first rewards are projected for September 17.

The Genesis Bond is the first Bitcoin staking cycle: a closed first bond, for pre-approved institutions only, with deliberately limited Bitcoin capacity. This sets it apart from the bonds that follow, which will be open to more participants at greater capacity. The Genesis Bond exists so institutions can deploy a first amount of Bitcoin into staking, and so the network runs one complete bonding cycle with real capital before scaling up.

What the Genesis Bond is

The Genesis Bond is the first Bitcoin staking cycle, closed off for pre-approved institutions to try out the new bond mechanism. Institutions in this cycle bond their own Bitcoin with STX, at their own size, under the same conditions every later participant will get: the point of going first is seeing the full loop run, from enrollment to bonding to BTC rewards landing. The rewards mechanism underneath isn't new. Bitcoin staking pairs BTC held on Bitcoin with STX on Stacks to generate self-custodial Bitcoin yield, and the yield comes from Stacks miners bidding BTC through Proof of Transfer, live for more than five years at 99.9% uptime. The BTC never leaves Bitcoin Layer 1 and stays under its owner's custody for the life of the bond.

The bond's start is defined by block height, so calendar dates are projections based on Bitcoin's average pace of 144 blocks per day. Timing is verifiable against the pox-5 contract on the Stacks explorer, where rewards will also be visible once they start.

How much Bitcoin is in the bond?

The exact amount will be verifiable on chain when the bond cycle starts. It's a moderate amount, deliberately sized for a first bonding cycle. Capacity scales up throughout the next bonding cycles.

Key dates

What this means

‍For institutions: the Genesis Bond is private for this round. To participate in a future bond, fill out the institutional onboarding form.

For STX Stakers: nothing changes. If you haven't already, restake your STX before Bitcoin block 962,050 to keep earning in the next cycle.

For all other Stakers: staking pools open during the Genesis Bond, with Stacking DAO first to announce theirs. Details on pools, capacity, and timing land later this month.

Register for the waitlist on the Bitcoin Staking page and be the first to know when pools open and new bond capacity becomes available.