Stellar Ecosystem
News

Beans App and Boss Money wallet have integrated with the Stellar Disbursement Platform, enabling global bulk payments and financial access across 185+ countries and 10+ African nations respectively.

Meridian 2023, the annual Stellar conference held in Madrid, showcased major ecosystem developments including MoneyGram's non-custodial wallet launch, Circle's EURC stablecoin deployment, and significant upgrades to developer tools like the Anchor Platform and Stellar Disbursement Platform.

The article explores the evolution of identity authentication from paper documents to Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs), emphasizing self-sovereign identity on blockchain. It highlights benefits like ownership, privacy, interoperability, and real-world applications in government, refugees, finance, and more. It teases upcoming content on implementing DIDs on the Stellar network.

The Stellar Development Foundation announced its support for the World Economic Forum's Humanitarian and Resilience Investing Initiative, positioning itself as the sole blockchain organization in the initiative. SDF aims to leverage blockchain technology to address poverty and insecurity affecting 2 billion people globally while advancing its mission of inclusive financial infrastructure.

This article explains the importance of swap functionality and Automated Market Makers (AMMs) for financial inclusion, detailing how AMMs work, their advantages, and challenges like impermanent loss. It highlights how Soroban smart contracts on Stellar enable developers to build sophisticated AMM protocols for trustless, incentivized liquidity provision.

Beans, a non-custodial payments app on Stellar, announced major updates including a redesigned UI, support for Nigerian Naira and USD bank deposits/withdrawals via new partners Link and Kado, an in-app QR scanner, and a new support page. The app has doubled its user base over three consecutive months.

A World Bank adviser discusses the critical role of remittances in global development, highlighting how they exceed foreign direct investment and development aid combined. The article examines barriers to efficient remittance flows—particularly high fees and currency conversion costs—and explores how mobile technologies and emerging solutions like blockchain could reduce costs and improve financial inclusion.

The Stellar Newsletter highlights key developments including the launch of the open-source Stellar Disbursement Platform, Allbridge's cross-chain bridge connecting Stellar to Ethereum, Solana, Celo, and Polygon, and SDF's investment in MoneyGram International. It also promotes Meridian 2023 conference, developer tools for Soroban, and various ecosystem updates like Airtm's USDC integration and Q2 review. The content emphasizes Stellar's growth in interoperability, financial inclusion, and smart contract scalability.

The Stellar Development Foundation partnered with PwC US to create a framework for assessing blockchain protocols' electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The guide addresses CBDCs' potential for financial inclusion, interoperability, and sustainability on open networks.

The Stellar Development Foundation commissioned The Block to research cash-to-crypto on-and-off-ramps globally, highlighting how these access points serve as critical entry points to the digital asset economy on the Stellar network.

This article outlines the essential building blocks required for a thriving smart contract ecosystem on Soroban, including financial protocols (AMMs, lending markets), data access tools (oracles, indexers), user interfaces (wallets, block explorers), and security mechanisms. It demonstrates how these interconnected components enable real-world DeFi use cases like decentralized lending.

GetPaid is a Stellar-powered marketplace connecting African digital professionals with global companies, enabling fast cross-border payments in multiple currencies. Built on Stellar's Anchor platform, it addresses talent supply challenges while providing cost-efficient payment solutions for freelancers and creators across Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Félix, a WhatsApp-based remittance platform, partners with Bitso to enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments from the US to Latin America using USDC on the Stellar network. The solution reduces remittance times from hours or days to seconds while dramatically lowering transaction fees.

Stellar leads all blockchains with 322,000 off-ramps and 475,000+ total cash-to-crypto ramps globally, with particular strength in underserved regions like Africa, Asia, and South America where traditional finance infrastructure is limited.

Vesseo is a wallet app built on Stellar by Sunship, Inc. (an SDF subsidiary) that enables Argentines to quickly and cheaply purchase and hold USDC to protect against peso devaluation. The app leverages Stellar's fast settlement, low fees, and asset issuance capabilities to provide a simple alternative to traditional dollar-holding methods.

Bitso integrated Stellar's Anchor Network to enable USDC payments to Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, leveraging blockchain to improve cross-border settlement times and costs for businesses and remittances.

Meridian 2023, Stellar's fifth annual conference, returns September 26-28 in Madrid with the theme 'Unlocking Human Potential.' Actor Idris Elba will open the event, which celebrates builders creating real-world blockchain solutions for financial inclusion.

The Stellar Development Foundation explains why on and off-ramps are critical infrastructure for crypto adoption, highlighting how they enable conversion between fiat and digital currencies. SDF emphasizes that accessible ramps are essential for financial inclusion, especially for the 2 billion unbanked workers globally who rely on cash.

Argentina's economic instability and poor official exchange rates drive citizens to seek better alternatives for currency exchange. Beans, a non-custodial wallet on the Stellar blockchain, uses stablecoins like USDC to enable tax-free, market-rate conversions between USD and ARS, often surpassing the blue dollar rate. This allows faster, cheaper cross-border transfers with added features like free transactions and interest-bearing savings.

Mary Saracco, Co-Founder and CFO of Latamex, shares her founder journey building Latin America's largest fiat gateway on Stellar. Her experience at the World Bank and frustrations with cross-border banking friction inspired her to create blockchain-enabled financial services for her home region.

SCF Kickstart bootcamp concluded its first 2023 cohort, supporting 30 Web3 startups building on Stellar and Soroban. CashAbroad won first place with $15,000 XLM for its LATAM cross-border payment platform, followed by Ripe and uils as runners-up.

SDF celebrated Consensus 2023 in Austin, showcasing Stellar's real-world utility beyond payments. CEO Denelle Dixon discussed blockchain's role in humanitarian aid, while the team highlighted Stellar Aid Assist and partnerships with major players like Franklin Templeton.

The Stellar Newsletter highlights Q1 achievements including Franklin Templeton's OnChain Fund surpassing $270M AUM on Stellar blockchain, SDF's strategic progress, and new board member Asiff Hirji. It covers partnerships like Arf, Cebuana Lhuillier, and blockchain remittances, plus Soroban smart contracts developments and community spotlights. Upcoming Meridian 2023 in Madrid is announced.