Lauren Thorbjørnsen, VP and Chief of Staff at the Stellar Development Foundation, discusses Stellar Meridian 2024 in London, highlighting the conference's 10-year anniversary theme of transformation, 800 expected attendees from 65 countries, and key sessions on financial inclusion, Soroban smart contracts, and emerging markets.
At Stellar Meridian 2024 in London, Lauren Thorbjørnsen outlines the three-day conference celebrating Stellar's 10-year anniversary with the theme of transformation. The event features 800 attendees and 130 speakers from 65 countries across developer, enterprise, and policy sectors. Key highlights include Idris Elba's fireside chat on West Africa initiatives, panels on blockchain in emerging markets, and presentations from major partners like MasterCard, Paxos, PayPal, and Franklin Templeton on tokenization. Soroban smart contracts, which went live this year, are a major focus with sessions on technical differentiators like state archival. Stellar's strategy emphasizes adoption through payments, financial inclusion for the global majority, and interoperability between traditional finance and blockchain, with strongest traction in Latin America and Africa.
