DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Cebuana Lhuillier, the Philippines' largest microfinance provider, integrated with Stellar to offer blockchain-based remittances to 2,500 branches, enabling near-instant settlement and lower fees for cross-border payments.
AMA recap with MYKOBO CEO Seyi Akin-Olugbemi, issuer of the EURC Euro stablecoin on Stellar. He discusses his background in fintech, the motivation behind MYKOBO for financial inclusion in Africa, and why Stellar is ideal for value transfer. MYKOBO app supports EURC, USDC, XLM, and AQUA, all on Stellar, with upcoming liquidity pools.
Rubén Galindo Steckel, CEO of Airtm, discusses how his Stellar-powered platform enables Latin Americans to participate in the global economy through fast, low-fee dollar accounts and flexible cash-out options, breaking down barriers to international financial participation.
Mercado Bitcoin and Stellar successfully tested a Brazilian CBDC on public blockchain, demonstrating delivery versus payment transactions with digital real. The pilot was part of Brazil's Central Bank LIFT Challenge to explore digital real use cases.
EURC is a Euro-pegged stablecoin launched on the Stellar blockchain by UAB MYKOBO, offering secure, fast, and sustainable transactions. It has seen significant adoption with over 150k in circulating supply and substantial trading volume on Stellar's DEX. To celebrate its launch and MYKOBO's anniversary, zero transaction fees are offered throughout March 2023.
TASCOMBANK released findings from its electronic money pilot on Stellar, recommending blockchain adoption for Ukraine's payment system. The report highlights benefits including transparency, security, low costs, and high throughput for issuing hryvnia-nominated electronic money.
MYKOBO recaps its 2022 journey, from inception inspired by remittance challenges to launching Version 2 on the Stellar blockchain with EURC stablecoin. Key achievements include over 400 users, 155K EUR traded volume, and integration with Stellar protocols like SEP-6, SEP-24, and SEP-31. The company anticipates 2023 expansions like EURC swaps, new payment corridors, IBAN services, and debit cards.
Airtm CEO Rubén Galindo Steckel discusses how blockchain and cross-border payments can enable Latin Americans to participate in the digital economy, reducing dependency on unstable local governments and creating income opportunities without migration.
The Stellar Newsletter highlights recent ecosystem developments including Soroban smart contracts live on Futurenet with a $100M developer fund and Sorobanathon. It covers Meridian 2022 on-demand sessions, Stellar Quest Live Series 5, bridge bounty grants, and the new Anchor Platform. Additional updates include stablecoin launches, SDF investments in NetXD and Wave, and community fund discussions.
Stellar's Meridian 2022 conference returns to Rome for the first time since 2019, bringing together the community to tackle urgent global challenges through collective problem-solving and diverse perspectives on blockchain solutions.
LINK, a Nigerian fintech that won Stellar Community Fund Round 10, uses Stellar's anchor infrastructure and NGNC stablecoin to enable fast, cheap cross-border payments across Africa. The company has integrated four businesses with $825k MRR and plans to scale its P2P platform to 50+ countries.
SDF's Marketing Grants Program has distributed over 1 million dollars to Stellar ecosystem projects since its January relaunch. The program supports user acquisition and growth through paid media, events, PR, and marketing resources for qualified projects aligned with financial inclusion.
Nium partners with Stellar Development Foundation to enable fiat payouts in 190 countries via API integration, allowing businesses to access real-time cross-border payment services without building their own infrastructure.
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America's largest digital asset platform, now enables USD Coin trading on the Stellar network with transaction fees of a fraction of one cent, expanding USDC accessibility and liquidity for the region.
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America's largest digital assets platform, now offers USDC on the Stellar network, enabling customers to transact with fees of a fraction of a cent. This marks the first time the exchange has offered the same asset across multiple networks.
The Stellar Development Foundation joined Mercado Bitcoin's CBDC consortium for Brazil's LIFT Challenge to develop a digital Real. The initiative aims to demonstrate instant settlement and delivery versus payment for crypto-assets, with a pilot potentially launching in Q4 2022.
Mercado Bitcoin partners with Stellar Development Foundation on LIFT Challenge Real Digital, exploring CBDC use cases for Brazil's central bank digital currency launching in H2 2022.
DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation are launching their second Blockchain Bootcamp in April 2022, bringing together 10 African startups to build payment and financial inclusion solutions on Stellar over three days, with winners receiving prizes and demo day pitching opportunities.
SDF spotlights two women building on Stellar: Mercedes Madanire in business development and Jeesun Kim in frontend development. They discuss their roles at Vesseo, a USDC wallet for Latin America, and share insights on representation and career growth in blockchain.
The Stellar Development Foundation and Wirex released a 2022 cryptocurrency adoption report surveying 8,257 people across the UK, US, Singapore, and Mexico. Key findings show 81% of the general population has heard of crypto, 39% own or have owned it, and adoption is spreading beyond the stereotypical young male demographic to women and older adults.
Velo Labs and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) partnered to improve cross-border payments to the Philippines using blockchain technology, targeting the $34 billion annual remittance market with faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions.
A comprehensive overview of Africa's rapidly growing Web3 economy, highlighting major blockchain protocols (including Stellar), venture capital investments, NGO partnerships, and government initiatives shaping the continent's crypto and blockchain landscape.
The Stellar Development Foundation launched a $30 million matching fund for early-stage companies building on Stellar, with initial investments in cross-border payments and fintech platforms serving emerging markets.
The Stellar Development Foundation launched a $30 million Matching Fund to co-invest with lead investors in early-stage companies building on Stellar, with in…
SDF launched a $30 million Matching Fund to co-invest in early-stage companies building on Stellar, with first investments supporting payroll, remittances, NF…
DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation launched a second Blockchain Bootcamp for African startups to build on Stellar, offering $5,000-$20,000 XLM prizes and follow-on funding opportunities. The virtual three-day sprint runs April 26-28, 2022, with applications due March 27.
Tribal, a fintech platform serving SMBs in emerging markets, raised $60 million in Series B funding led by SoftBank Latin America Fund. The company plans to expand across Latin America, building on its cross-border payment system with Bitso and the Stellar Development Foundation.