DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Balanced, a cross-chain DeFi app, is now live on Injective, enabling borrowing of bnUSD stablecoin, cross-chain swaps, and transfers to chains like Arbitrum, Avalanche, and others. It uses General Message Passing (GMP) powered by IBC for seamless interoperability. Upcoming connections include Stellar.
Phoenix DeFi Hub has launched on Stellar's Soroban smart contract platform, starting with a decentralized exchange in May and planning an NFT marketplace and additional protocols. The platform aims to be a comprehensive DeFi solution leveraging Stellar's on/off-ramp infrastructure and stablecoin ecosystem.
PaltaLabs and Soroswap hosted an educational event at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile on August 8, 2024, bringing together 50+ entrepreneurs and developers to explore blockchain, DeFi, and smart contracts on Stellar. The event featured presentations on Soroswap's decentralized exchange, USDC integration, regulatory considerations, and networking opportunities.
The Stellar Development Foundation released a documentary called 'The Onchain Effect' showcasing how blockchain technology is solving real-world financial problems. The film tells the story of an Australian entrepreneur in Colombia who uses Stellar and the Decaf wallet to safely pay his employees in USDC, eliminating the need to carry dangerous amounts of cash.
Fernanda Orduña Rangel, co-founder of Decaf, shares her journey from industrial engineer to blockchain developer building financial inclusion solutions on Stellar. Decaf enables users in Latin America and Africa to hold value in USDC and invest, addressing real-world financial exclusion and inflation protection.
DECTA, an Ireland-based EMI, is partnering with French fintech Next Generation to launch EURT, a MiCA-compliant Euro-pegged stablecoin on Stellar and three other blockchains. The project, originally launched in 2017, is being relaunched in October 2024 under the new European regulatory framework.
OwlTing Group integrated its OwlPay Wallet Pro with Stellar to support USDC stablecoin, expanding access to 8+ million Stellar accounts. The integration enables compliant cross-border payments and allows users to pay transaction fees in fiat currency.
Balanced Network's Q2 2024 update details deployments on five new blockchains including Avalanche, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, Base, and Havah, alongside smart contract audits and cross-chain preparations. Governance saw 19 proposals passed, with the DAO earning $33k in fees and burning ICX as part of economic enshrinement with ICON. Q3 plans include cross-chain loans and launches on Injective, Optimism, Polygon, and Stellar.
Vesseo, a Stellar-based digital wallet by SDF subsidiary Sunship, reported 282% growth in monthly active users and 186% growth in transactions year-over-year, with Argentina accounting for 93% of its user base as high inflation drives adoption across Latin America.
Balanced, a cross-chain DeFi platform originally on ICON, has rapidly expanded with five new blockchain connections in 2024, boosting availability by 250%. Upcoming plans include front-end integrations for Injective and Optimism, cross-chain loans, and phase two connections to Solana, Stacks, Stellar, Sui, and more. The update highlights improved trading with unified multi-chain assets and Stability Fund enhancements.
Etherfuse, a tokenized real-world assets platform, raised $3 million in seed funding co-led by White Star Capital and North Island Ventures, with participation from the Stellar Development Foundation. The company is tokenizing emerging market government debt on Stellar and Solana blockchains, starting with Latin American sovereign bonds.
Huma Finance publishes a comprehensive overview of PayFi (Payment Finance), a new frontier in real-world assets that combines stablecoins with financing mechanisms to enable scalable, compliant payment solutions. The article introduces the PayFi Stack—a framework with six layers (Transaction, Currency, Custody, Financing, Compliance, Application)—and highlights Stellar's role alongside Solana in providing high-throughput, low-cost transaction infrastructure for payments.
This guide explains how Ugandan users can withdraw cryptocurrency from Binance to Ugandan Shillings (UGX) via Mobile Money or bank accounts using Bingtellar, a web3 payments platform. It provides a detailed step-by-step process, highlighting Bingtellar's advantages over P2P methods. The article mentions Stellar as one of the affordable blockchain networks for low-cost transfers.
The Stellar Development Foundation donated $250,000 to support Glo Dollar's integration into the Stellar ecosystem. Glo Dollar is a stablecoin that donates 100% of its profits to charitable causes, enabling users to support philanthropy without explicit donations through remittances and social payouts.
An educational guide introducing web3, blockchain, and smart contracts with a focus on Stellar's Soroban platform. The article provides a DeFi glossary, development overview, and highlights PaltaLabs' Create Soroban DApp boilerplate for building decentralized applications.
Pendulum's Q2 2024 roundup highlights the launch of their Forex AMM on Testnet powered by Nabla and progress on the Spacewalk bridge uniting Stellar and Polkadot ecosystems. Key developments include vDOT collateral from a successful Polkadot treasury proposal, stablecoin offramping to bank accounts, Soroswap integration, Subscan listing, and new liquidity pools on Zenlink for Stellar holders. Governance referendums advanced asset registrations and network upgrades.
MYKOBO is transitioning its EURC stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain to Circle's EURC, affecting over 25K asset holders. This move supports MiCAR compliance and expands services to Ethereum, Avalanche, and Solana. Current services will continue uninterrupted during the transition.
Taurus, a digital asset infrastructure provider serving major financial institutions, has expanded its custody and tokenization platforms to the Stellar network, joining other major players like Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and Circle in leveraging Stellar for real-world asset tokenization.
GYEN and ZUSD stablecoins are now available for trading on Bitstamp, a major regulated exchange founded in 2011. The listing enables users to easily convert between USD and these Stellar-based stablecoins with enhanced security and compliance features.
The Stellar Development Foundation hosted a Cash-to-DeFi challenge track at Consensus X EasyA 2024 Hackathon in Austin, attracting global developers to build real-world financial solutions. Five winning projects were selected, including DeFindexes, Global Rupee, RampMeDaddy, Punch Starter, and Lumen Finance, each addressing financial inclusion and DeFi accessibility.
FxDAO's peg system for synthetic currencies on Stellar uses XLM collateral and arbitrage incentives similar to the gold standard, not algorithmic stablecoins. It features controlled issuance, redemption, and liquidations to maintain stability and health. The protocol ensures debt cannot exceed collateral value, enforced by smart contracts.
This article introduces Stellar and its Soroban smart contract platform to Polkadot users, highlighting integration via the Spacewalk bridge by Pendulum. It covers asset transfers for Stellar's stablecoins, use cases in DeFi and payments, and provides a getting started guide. The synergy aims to enhance cross-chain financial inclusion and innovation.
Bingtellar has been awarded an Activation Grant from the Stellar Community Fund to enhance its global payments infrastructure on the Stellar network, targeting cross-border payments in Africa. The grant supports expanding features, stablecoin utility, and connecting underserved Africans to the global economy. Bingtellar leverages Stellar's blockchain for fast, low-cost remittances, akin to 'TransferWise on Web3'.
The Spacewalk bridge connects Stellar and Polkadot ecosystems, enabling Stellar users to access Polkadot's DeFi capabilities and Pendulum's fiat-DeFi infrastructure. This integration allows seamless asset transfers, forex DEX, yield farming with stablecoins, and cross-border payments. It expands opportunities for Stellar community in advanced blockchain applications.
FxDAO shares its Q1 2024 update, highlighting the completion of a smart contract audit by Runtime Verification and adaptations to Soroban platform changes on Stellar. Despite challenges like limit downgrades requiring refactors, the team resolved issues to fit current network limits. They are preparing for mainnet launch with vaults for synthetic USD, EUR, and GBP, alongside plans for a custom oracle.