Closing keynote from Meridian 2023 reflecting on Soroban's progress from preview to mainnet launch, ecosystem growth to 100+ projects, and the $100M Soroban Adoption Fund strategy for accelerating DeFi and financial inclusion.
This closing keynote from Meridian 2023 reflects on Soroban's journey and future direction. The speaker discusses the technical achievements of Soroban, including its novel design for state expiration, fine-grained fee metering, and developer experience. The ecosystem has grown to 100+ projects across 40+ countries, with 40 projects presenting at the conference. Testnet launched last week with mainnet expected within six weeks of stable releases. The speaker outlines the transition from minimum viable ecosystem to a virtuous cycle, with plans to scale from 100 to 1,000 projects. The $100M Soroban Adoption Fund will accelerate distribution through initiatives like the Soroban Audit Bank and improved community governance. The vision combines Stellar's cash access with Soroban's DeFi capabilities to unlock financial inclusion in underserved markets.