Jed McCaleb and Danell Dixon discuss Stellar's growth, leadership transition, and 2020 accomplishments. The SDF expanded from 12 to 80 employees, launched Vibrant in Argentina, and focused on real-world use cases in emerging markets while navigating COVID-19 and policy engagement.
In this Meridian conference interview, Stellar Development Foundation co-founder Jed McCaleb and CEO Danell Dixon reflect on their partnership and organizational growth. McCaleb brought Dixon on as CEO after serving in that role himself, seeking someone to scale the organization. Dixon, formerly at Mozilla, was drawn to Stellar's mission and the opportunity to apply policy lessons from the early web. The SDF grew from 12 to nearly 80 employees in 18 months, with major accomplishments including Vibrant's beta launch in Argentina, expanded anchor networks, and improved developer documentation. Both emphasized the importance of open source infrastructure, regional focus for use cases, and building trust with policymakers. They discussed COVID-19's impact on fundraising for ecosystem builders, the need for fiat on/off ramps in emerging markets, and optimism about blockchain adoption under new U.S. administration policies.
