DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Tribal, a B2B fintech platform for emerging markets, raised $40 million in debt funding from the Stellar Development Foundation and Partners for Growth, including $20 million in Stellar USDC to provide cheaper capital access to SMBs across Latin America.
The Stellar Development Foundation announced that Stellar blockchain will power Ukraine's central bank digital currency pilot, led by FinTech firm Bitt and TASCOMBANK under central bank supervision. This positions Ukraine ahead of most European nations in CBDC development.
Tribal Credit, Bitso, and the Stellar Development Foundation partnered to launch a cross-border B2B payment platform enabling Mexican businesses to send payments in pesos to the U.S. and receive dollars, leveraging Stellar's blockchain network for faster, cheaper transactions.
Tribal Credit, Bitso, and the Stellar Development Foundation launched a cross-border payment system enabling SMBs in Mexico and the U.S. to transact using USDC stablecoins, reducing costs and settlement times for international payments.
Flutterwave launched two new remittance corridors between Europe and Africa on the Stellar network, partnering with TEMPO to enable cost-effective money transfers using Stellar USDC. The expansion aims to strengthen Pan-African digital payments infrastructure and reduce remittance costs to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Stellar Development Foundation announced a new Matching Fund track within its Enterprise Fund to co-invest up to $500K alongside lead investors in early-stage companies building on Stellar. The fund targets pre-Series B startups globally, particularly in emerging markets, with expedited processing and a one-year integration timeline.
Arf and Tempo Payments launched a Stellar-based payment corridor from Europe to the Philippines using Circle's Stellar USDC, enabling compliant cross-border transactions with near-zero fees and instant settlement.
Anclap launched the first Peruvian sol stablecoin on Stellar, 100% backed by local currency. The digital asset is exchangeable for multiple Latin American currencies and wallets, advancing Anclap's goal to build a cross-border payment network reducing remittance costs.
DFS Lab is hosting a three-day Blockchain Bootcamp in collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation for nine African startups building financial solutions on Stellar. Winners will receive prizes and pitch to investors at a demo day.
Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon discusses how El Salvador's bitcoin adoption opens doors for broader cryptocurrency use, particularly stablecoins and remittances. She highlights how stablecoins on Stellar can reduce remittance costs from 7-8% to pennies, enabling faster cross-border payments.
Stellar's Meridian 2021 conference (Nov 17-18) will showcase local builders creating financial inclusion solutions on the network. The event features ecosystem updates, debates on regulation and digital currencies, and community product demos under the theme Build Locally, Impact Globally.
Bitso, a leading Latin American exchange, is integrating Stellar USDC to offer cheaper and faster cross-border payments between the US and Mexico, benefiting its 2+ million users through reduced transaction costs and improved interoperability across the region.
DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation launched a three-day Blockchain Bootcamp for African startups to build on Stellar, with prizes up to 20,000 USDC and potential follow-on funding opportunities.
Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, discusses how Stellar addresses financial inclusion in emerging markets by reducing remittance costs, enabling women's financial access, and providing SMBs with tools to compete globally through low-cost, fast transactions.
The Stellar Development Foundation joined the Association of Ukrainian Banks as a member, formalizing its advisory role in helping Ukraine develop blockchain and virtual asset capabilities alongside the country's banking system.
SDF convened Ukrainian financial leaders with blockchain experts to discuss virtual asset strategy ahead of new legislation. The event featured industry practitioners sharing real-world use cases on compliance, tokenization, CBDCs, and stablecoins to help shape Ukraine's emerging virtual asset ecosystem.
Wyre launched a Savings API enabling fintechs to offer yield-earning savings accounts in Stellar USDC, with returns many times higher than traditional U.S. savings accounts. The service follows a $5 million SDF Enterprise Fund investment in Wyre and is already being used by fintech Airtm to serve Latin American users.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $15 million in Airtm, a Latin American digital wallet and P2P exchange platform, to expand financial access in underserved regions. The partnership will integrate Airtm with Stellar's network and USDC stablecoin to enable broader payment services.
Stellar Development Foundation invests $15 million in Airtm, a Mexican digital wallet and P2P exchange platform serving Latin America. The funds will support Airtm's integration with Stellar to enable faster, cheaper, and safer payment services across emerging markets.
The Stellar Development Foundation's Enterprise Fund invested $15 million in Airtm, a Mexico-based digital wallet and crypto exchange. This is SDF's largest investment on record and part of a broader strategy to expand cross-border payments and financial inclusion in Latin America.
Visa partnered with fintech startup Tala to expand crypto adoption in emerging markets, providing USDC stablecoin access through Tala's digital wallet and enabling Visa-issued payment cards linked to the wallet.
Two Stellar Community Fund finalists, COINQVEST and Anclap, are partnering to deliver inflation-free payment processing in Argentina. COINQVEST provides merchant payment solutions on Stellar, while Anclap offers anchor services and digital currency payments, demonstrating ecosystem network effects.
The Stellar Development Foundation invested $3 million in Tribal Credit, a fintech platform serving SMEs in emerging markets. Tribal will build blockchain products on Stellar to provide faster, cheaper cross-border payments and banking services across Latin America.
The article contrasts traditional payment apps like Venmo with Stellar's blockchain for low-cost, borderless remittances. It highlights Stellar's negligible transaction fees, decentralized exchange for fair rates, and adoption by Franklin Templeton. The author, a self-described no-coiner, expresses optimism about cryptocurrency's potential to empower the unbanked.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $750,000 in Cowrie, a Nigeria-based fintech platform using Stellar for crypto remittances. The funding supports expansion of payment corridors between Africa and the world, though Cowrie recently suspended naira transactions due to Nigeria's crypto banking restrictions.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $750K in Cowrie Integrated Systems, a London-based fintech enabling cross-border payments and remittances across Africa, particularly Nigeria, while engaging with regulators on cryptocurrency policy.