DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Stellar Protocol 23, named Whisk, introduces unified events and parallel transaction processing to improve developer experience and network scalability. The protocol launches September 3rd and includes fee reductions, state archival foundational work, and configurable network parameters.
CHATS is a blockchain-powered platform revolutionizing humanitarian aid distribution with transparency, smart contracts, and direct cash/voucher assistance to vulnerable communities. It runs on multiple chains including Stellar and Polygon, using non-custodial, gasless smart contracts and stablecoins for secure, efficient fund disbursement. Key features include offline NFC transactions, real-time dashboards, and fraud prevention, benefiting NGOs, donors, vendors, and beneficiaries.
The Stellar Development Foundation introduces the Token Transfer Processor (TTP), a Go package that simplifies tracking token movements on Stellar by automatically generating clean, standardized events for payments, DEX trades, smart contracts, and fees.
Templar Protocol, a decentralized lending platform, published its roadmap for expanding Cypher Lending across multiple blockchains. Starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum in Q2 2025, the protocol plans to add Stellar, Solana, Cardano, and dozens more chains through 2026, with privacy features and chain abstraction.
Protocol 23 introduces CAP-67 events that can emit data for both new and historical ledgers. Operators must enable two new core flags—EMIT_CLASSIC_EVENTS and BACKFILL_STELLAR_ASSET_EVENTS—to build a complete unified events feed covering classic operations and Soroban transactions.
Pacto is a non-custodial, decentralized peer-to-peer exchange for Stellar-based stablecoins, built in 48 hours at the Casa Builder Hackathon using Trustless Work. It enables merchants and users to trade stablecoins for local fiat via on-chain smart escrow contracts without intermediaries. The open-source project supports community ramps, merchant off-ramps, and DAO payouts.
Trustless Work is participating in OnlyDust OS Wave #1 from June 26 to July 6, offering high-impact tasks for contributors preparing for mainnet launch. Tasks include escrow viewer refactors, wallet analytics, smart contract optimizations, passkey integration, and backoffice enhancements on the Stellar blockchain. Contributors can join via OnlyDust to work on real smart contracts, UI features, and dev tools for the stablecoin economy.
Protocol 23 introduces eight Core Advancement Proposals (CAPs) to the Stellar network, featuring major performance improvements for Soroban including reduced costs, parallel transaction execution, and automatic state restoration. The mainnet vote is scheduled for September 3, 2025.
Stellar is advancing its blockchain with a public roadmap emphasizing scalability, usability, and developer tools like Soroban optimizations, Freighter wallet, AI assistants Stella and Contract Copilot, and integrations with OpenZeppelin. It powers real-world assets with $522 million on-chain and $17 billion in volume across 70 countries. The ecosystem offers robust support via the Stellar Community Fund and production-ready infrastructure.
This guide introduces Trustless Work, an escrow infrastructure on the Stellar blockchain, and provides step-by-step instructions for deploying a smart escrow on the Stellar testnet using a demo app. Users connect their Stellar wallet, configure details like financial setup, roles, and milestones, then deploy and interact with the escrow. It highlights ease of use without SDKs and offers bonus tools for integration.
Balanced's Q1 2025 update details major cross-chain expansions including support for Stellar, Polygon, and others, with launches of cross-chain Savings Rate, liquidity pools, and rewards. The project announces a transition to SODAX as part of ICON's shift to a DeFi platform, with PARROT9 taking ownership. Financials show $50k in fees earned, alongside governance and enshrinement progress.
RemittEase is an omni-chain remittance service using Stellar alongside Base, Optimism, Lisk, and XRP to deliver sub 1% fees and faster transfers compared to traditional 6-20% services. It emphasizes transparency, security, and user-friendly onboarding for global families. The platform aims to make cross-border payments more accessible and fair, especially for underserved regions.
zkCross Network introduces Cross Power (xP), a participation rewards system that tracks and rewards user interactions across its ecosystem, including on Stellar and Partisia blockchains. xP is minted based on activities like trading, bridging, and staking, without supply caps, distinguishing engaged users from passive ones. It unlocks utilities such as discount NFTs, governance, and merchandise.
COCA, a stablecoin payments platform, has secured strategic investment from the Stellar Development Foundation and FunFair Ventures. The funding will accelerate COCA's expansion within the Stellar ecosystem, enabling seamless stablecoin payments through non-custodial debit cards and IBANs to over 80 million merchants worldwide.
Blend V2 is launching with audits wrapping up soon. The migration allows lenders, borrowers, and backstoppers to move to V2 at their own pace while V1 remains operational, with key improvements including flash loan support, expanded pool parameters, and better liquidation mechanics.
Executioners Esports publishes an educational guide on Stellar blockchain, covering its fast, low-cost payment infrastructure, the Stellar Consensus Protocol, and Soroban smart contracts. The article provides developer onboarding steps and real-world use cases including DeFi, NFTs, and gaming.
The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) Round 31 awarded $2,068,710 in XLM to 22 projects, including payment solutions, DeFi platforms, developer tools, and RWA tokenization engines. The round received 123 submissions, with 71 being first-time applicants, demonstrating strong ecosystem growth.
The Stellar Development Foundation published a comprehensive 2024 year-in-review highlighting major ecosystem achievements including the mainnet launch of Soroban smart contracts, expansion of DeFi protocols like Blend, integration of payment solutions with MoneyGram and Stripe, real-world asset adoption through Franklin Templeton and Paxos, and humanitarian aid initiatives through UNHCR partnerships.
Ghanaian fintech Seevcash integrated DeFindex's white-label DeFi yield infrastructure on Stellar in just one week, slashing development time from 12+ months and reducing code by 50%. Post-marketing, TVL spiked 433% to $13K with 24 active users earning yields on stablecoins. The SDK enabled gasless transactions via Stellar sponsorship, building trust in unbanked markets.
This article explores how passkeys—a secure, user-friendly authentication method already adopted in Web2—are being integrated into Stellar's blockchain to improve user experience and drive adoption. Stellar gained a significant advantage by implementing native secp256r1 support in Protocol 21, enabling passkey functionality directly at the protocol level rather than through third-party solutions.
The Stellar Development Foundation released its Q3 2024 report highlighting major ecosystem milestones including 9 million network addresses, $5M+ in Enterprise and Matching Fund investments, and the launch of Stellar Community Fund 6.0. Key achievements include Franklin Templeton's Benji platform reaching $450M in supply, Protocol 22 development nearing completion, and expanded ecosystem integrations with Dune and DefiLlama.
zkCross Network announces Super Accounts on Stellar, powered by their Chain Abstraction Layer, enabling seamless 1-click cross-chain DeFi transactions without bridging or gas management. This integrates zkCrossDEX with Stellar's Soroban blockchain, supported by a Stellar Community Fund grant. The phased roadmap includes AMM DEX, staking, launchpad, and perpetuals trading.
Stellar DEX offers zero-fee trading, providing a significant edge for strategies like scalping and arbitrage by eliminating percentage-based costs that erode profits on other exchanges. Minimal network fees of 0.0001 XLM ensure negligible impact, while AMMs enhance liquidity on key pairs like XLM/USDC. The article highlights pros, cons, and tools like Chartui to maximize trading potential.
This article explores the evolution of wallets from ancient times to modern smart contract wallets, highlighting how Stellar's infrastructure enables user-friendly, secure smart wallets with features like gasless transactions, passkey authentication, and account abstraction.
zkCross Network announces its oversubscribed seed and strategic funding rounds, backed by investors including Stellar, ahead of a $2.6M public sale. The project offers chain abstraction infrastructure to simplify cross-chain DeFi with features like messaging systems, liquidity aggregation, and decentralized protocols. A detailed roadmap outlines expansion across blockchains, targeting massive user growth.
This article explains smart contract wallets (smart wallets) and their advantages over traditional crypto wallets, including enhanced functionality, security features, and passkey support. It highlights how Stellar's Protocol 20 and 21 enable passkey-powered smart wallets to improve user onboarding and accessibility.
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.
This article explains the role and importance of Lumens, Stellar's native currency, detailing how they function as transaction fees, maintain network security through minimum balance requirements, and serve as a bridge currency for cross-border payments. It also highlights Stellar's unique consensus protocol (SCP) and its advantages over traditional blockchain networks.