DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
PayPal's former blockchain head José Fernández da Ponte has joined the Stellar Development Foundation as president and chief growth officer. The SDF also appointed Jason Karsh, ex-Block and Blockchain.com executive, as chief marketing officer. Both hires aim to boost Stellar's growth, financial inclusion efforts, and adoption.
Trustless Work participated in Casa Builders CDMX, a Stellar-hosted hackathon in Mexico focusing on financial inclusion, digital identity, and public good transparency. Their team built Pacto, a decentralized P2P stablecoin ramp using Trustless Work's programmable escrow, and won the event. The hackathon united Latin American builders, with strong Costa Rican representation.
Trustless Work participated in the Stellar Hackathon in Mexico City, hosted by the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation. Builders from five countries, including a dozen from Costa Rica, focused on accelerating stablecoin adoption in Latin America through workshops and mentorship on escrow-enabled flows. The event highlighted Latin America's growing role in programmable finance.
Keyrails, a stablecoin-based operating system for cross-border payments in emerging markets, has selected Dfns to power its wallet infrastructure. The platform supports stablecoins across multiple blockchains including Stellar, enabling programmable treasuries, fast settlements, and compliance. This partnership enhances security and scalability for high-value transactions in regions like Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Tellus Cooperative announces a July lineup of free virtual events focused on fintech, blockchain, and AI for Latin America, featuring Stellar Quest workshops and spotlights on projects like TuCambio, A0X, and Skipo. Participants can learn Stellar basics, join discussions with innovators, and win official Stellar Chile merchandise through live raffles. The events aim to build a collaborative Web3 ecosystem in the region.
Airtm, Bridge, and Stellar blockchain have integrated to enable fast, low-cost stablecoin payouts for global freelancers and gig workers. Nearly half of Airtm's stablecoin payouts now use Stellar, processing over 1.2 million transactions across seven continents since March 2024. This partnership leverages Stellar's anchor network for seamless fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, revolutionizing cross-border payroll.
This article highlights Stellar blockchain's role in revolutionizing remittances, cooperative fund management, and financial inclusion in Latin America. It showcases apps like Tempo, Vibrant, and LOBSTR enabling instant transfers, transparent records, and bankless access. Stellar is positioned as a leader in practical blockchain adoption.
The U.S. GENIUS Act has passed the House, providing regulatory clarity for USD-pegged stablecoins and enabling compliant innovation. This is a major boost for builders on Stellar, especially with USDC and new entrants like PYUSD. It unlocks opportunities in LATAM remittances and programmable payments via infrastructure like Trustless Work.
Raja Chakravorti, Chief Business Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation, discusses how Stellar's fast, low-cost blockchain is enabling financial inclusion globally, with use cases ranging from institutional adoption by Franklin Templeton to UN-backed humanitarian aid delivery in crisis zones.
PayPal announced plans to bring PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin to the Stellar network pending regulatory approval, expanding PYUSD beyond Ethereum and Solana. The move aims to leverage Stellar's speed, low costs, and extensive on/off-ramp infrastructure to enable fast cross-border payments, financial inclusion, and emerging payment financing solutions.
MoneyGram has reached $30 million in transaction volume through its crypto-to-cash service on Stellar, operating in over 170 countries. The partnership demonstrates real-world blockchain adoption for financial inclusion, enabling users to convert stablecoins to local currency and facilitating humanitarian aid distribution.
The Stellar Community Fund Kickstart #11, held in March 2025, was a five-day virtual program that accelerated 13 blockchain startups from 9 countries through design sprints focused on MVP development, UX, architecture, GTM, and SCF submissions. All participants received Kickstart Awards, with standout projects like XHIBIT, Vaquita, WYT Network, Peridot Finance, and Dobprotocol recognized for their innovation on the Stellar ecosystem. Participants praised the program's organization and mentorship.
The article explains blockchain security fundamentals and highlights why Stellar is ideal for fast, low-cost payments and financial inclusion. It emphasizes Stellar's support for both cryptocurrencies and fiat, with tiny transaction fees. Tellus Cooperative promotes educational events on Stellar and Web3 for Latin American communities.
May was a dynamic month for Stellar featuring major global events (Consensus in Toronto, Ledger Leaders Week in Mexico City), new DeFi adoption programs (Hana Wallet & Balanced rewards, Dogstar Protocol), and significant technical upgrades including Stellar Core's TPS nearly doubling to 2,032.
The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) #35 round received 77 submissions and awarded $1,840,348 worth of XLM to 21 innovative projects. Funded initiatives span payments, DeFi, cross-chain infrastructure, wallets, and developer tools on the Stellar network. Highlights include AirGap's secure cold wallet, Wirex Pay's Visa-supported payment solution, and Cobo's institutional custody integration.
Blend is a DeFi protocol primitive on Stellar that enables users to create customizable lending pools for depositing assets to earn interest or borrowing against collateral. The article explains Blend's core components including isolated pools, backstop modules, BLND tokens, and its integration with applications like the SCF-funded Meru wallet to expand financial inclusion.
The Stellar Development Foundation shared Q1 2025 ecosystem performance metrics and progress toward three ambitious 2025 goals: top 10 DeFi TVL ranking, top 10 monthly active wallets, and $3B in onchain RWAs. The network demonstrated real-world impact through institutional adoption, new wallet launches, and significant RWA issuance growth.
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.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Stellar blockchain ecosystem, highlighting its key statistics, use cases like cross-border payments, microtransactions, CBDCs, and aid distribution, and unique features such as the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP). It emphasizes Stellar's focus on low-cost, fast transactions for financial inclusion and DeFi innovation. The ecosystem boasts $62.24M TVL, 200 TPS, and partnerships with entities like MoneyGram and IBM.
The Stellar Community Fund Kickstart #10, held in March 2025, accelerated 32 blockchain startups from 16 countries through a five-day design sprint. 28 teams received $290,000 in XLM awards, with standout projects like Abokyh, Dayfi, and DeFarm recognized for their Stellar integrations. Participants praised the mentorship on Stellar tools, smart contracts, and GTM strategies.
Tala launched a crypto wallet pilot on Stellar's blockchain to deliver stablecoins for financial inclusion in emerging markets, particularly Latin America. The wallet emphasizes self-custody, low transaction costs, and interoperability, enabling affordable credit, remittances, and digital payments for the unbanked. Stablecoins provide stability, speed, and accessibility over traditional banking.
Untangled introduces an Embedded Yield Layer to simplify access to fragmented DeFi and RWA yields across multiple blockchains. It features modular components like Untangled Vault, Credio, and Untangled Pool for automated capital allocation, risk management, and private credit tokenization. Products like USDyc are live on Stellar, Celo, and Polygon, enabling seamless yield for users and institutions.
An article advocating for Stellar's adoption by the U.S. government for efficient aid disbursement and public sector payments, highlighting the Stellar Disbursement Platform's proven track record with UNHCR and other organizations.
The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) #34 round awarded $1,717,287 worth of XLM to 17 innovative projects building on the Stellar blockchain. Projects span DeFi, payments, developer tools, gaming, and infrastructure, showcasing Stellar's growing ecosystem for serious builders. Highlights include Greep Pay for stablecoin POS, NebulaVRF for on-chain randomness, and DappRadar for Soroban tracking.