What started as a way to hedge against inflation and ride crypto volatility has slowly turned into something more useful. Instead, projects are now focusing on real utility and building actual use cases.
To handle traffic and keep networks secure, L1s are rolling out L2 solutions. However, it’s not just altcoins getting in on this. Bitcoin [BTC] is no stranger to this trend, with upgrades bringing more real utility to the table.
At the heart of this shift is the Nakamoto upgrade. Rolled out as a hard fork in 2024, it changed how Stacks works with Bitcoin, producing new blocks every five seconds and making BTC transactions more final and reliable.
Source: DeFiLlama
So, the question is – Where does Stacks stand a year later?
Notably, the upgrade also brought sBTC that lets BTC holders move their coins into DeFi, smart contracts, and decentralized apps, allowing Bitcoin to shift from a purely speculative asset to one with real utility.
That being said, volatility has left its mark. With $400 million in sBTC TVL, the network has seen a 50%+ drop from the $600 million-peak in August 2025 – A sign that while the tech is solid, market swings still impact adoption.
How Bitcoin L2 stacks is handling a turbulent market
Like most things in crypto, Bitcoin Stacks comes with its ups and downs.
On the plus side, Token Terminal revealed that BTC’s transaction count hit 40 million+ per quarter in both Q3 and Q4. Even with the market swinging wildly. This is indicative of strong activity, proving that Stacks might be holding its ground.
However, on the technical front, this didn’t fully translate into returns. In fact, Bitcoin closed 2025 with its Q4 ROI at -23% – Marking the worst end-of-quarter performance since the 2022 bear market.
Source: Coinglass
According to AMBCrypto, this divergence raises a key question.
Even though Stacks functions as a Bitcoin Layer‑2, enabling on-chain liquidity for real-use cases like dApps and DeFi, it still couldn’t prevent a downturn. Moreover, the drop in sBTC TVL only added to the outflows.
So, does this mean Bitcoin’s move from a speculative asset to real utility hasn’t fully paid off? Looking at the numbers, it’s a fair point, highlighting the challenges of resilience in volatile markets.
Ultimately, it’s something worth thinking about.
Final Thoughts
- Bitcoin transaction counts have stayed high, showing that Stacks’ Layer‑2 network is active.
- BTC’s transition from speculative asset to utility hasn’t fully translated into positive returns yet.