Zest Protocol launches STX rewards for Stacks market liquidity
Stacks (STX)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Cryptobriefing.com reports that Zest Protocol has launched a 90-day incentive program to boost activity on its Stacks lending market. The protocol is distributing 3 BTC worth of STX tokens, starting with 0.5 BTC per month, to users who supply sBTC or borrow USDCx. The program runs from September 10 through December 10, 2026, with rewards split evenly between the two user groups.
USDCx borrowers must maintain a minimum 20% time-weighted loan-to-value ratio to qualify for their share. sBTC depositors are enrolled automatically via daily on-chain snapshots, with rewards scaling proportionally to their deposits. This structure adds an extra 0.6% APY to the organic borrow interest already earned by suppliers. Zest has operated on Stacks since March 2024, reaching over $100 million in total value locked without reporting bad debt.
The platform supports assets like sBTC, STX, stSTX, and USDCx with pair-specific risk parameters and partial liquidations. This initiative supports the broader Stack Sats program and prepares liquidity for upcoming leveraged Bitcoin staking vaults. Rewards are verified through transparent on-chain data, removing trust assumptions common in centralized programs.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for STX, measured when this story was written up on 14 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio spot data for STX shows a mixed immediate trading picture with a 1-hour buy ratio of 52.7% and a 4-hour ratio of 64.1%, indicating short-term buying pressure. However, the 24-hour buy ratio sits lower at 45.7%, suggesting that buying momentum has faded over the full day. Volume deltas reflect this shift, with positive inflows of $2,564 in the last hour and $146,292 over four hours, contrasting with a net outflow of $206,629 over 24 hours. The buy ratio measures the proportion of trades executed by buyers versus sellers, while volume delta tracks the net value of those trades. Despite recent hourly inflows, the negative 24-hour volume delta of -$206,629 indicates that sellers have dominated the broader daily session. Net buying occurred in only 15 of the last 24 hours, highlighting a day where selling pressure outweighed buying interest.
The latest daily buy ratio of 51.8% sits at the 61st percentile of the last 324 days, against a median of 50.8% - ordinary for this coin.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for STX, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, STX experienced a 7-day average buy ratio of 52.9%, which is 7.2 percentage points higher than the latest day's reading. This indicates that today's trading activity was less bullish than the recent weekly norm. Trading volume was 1.27 times the average, showing heightened activity despite the lower buy ratio. The coin saw a price change of -1.3% over eight days, with a total volume delta of +$318,580 for the period. While today's volume spike suggests unusual attention, the drop in the buy ratio marks a deviation from the week's generally balanced trend.