Block Production

Block production is a key concept to understand how Stacks operates under the hood. This section walks through the three main actions that need to happen for the Stacks chain to operate.

1

Mining

Miners are responsible for building and proposing new blocks on the Stacks chain.

2

Signing

Signing is the process used to validate blocks and sign sBTC deposits and withdrawals. Stackers participate in signing once they meet stacking prerequisites.

3

Stacking

Stacking is an action performed by stackers that is a necessary prerequisite to signing. It enables participation in validation and earning rewards.

There are two primary parties in Stacks block production: miners and stackers. Miners build and propose new blocks, while stackers validate those blocks and sign sBTC deposits and withdrawals. Stacking enables stackers to participate in signing.

For an in-depth technical overview of block production after the Nakamoto Upgrade, see SIP-021:

https://github.com/stacksgov/sips/blob/feat/sip-021-nakamoto/sips/sip-021/sip-021-nakamoto.md

Here's a diagram outlining the block production process under Nakamoto rules. The following docs dig into each part in detail.