Billy Grunas from the Stellar Development Foundation presents an overview of blockchain technology, Bitcoin's proof-of-work mechanism, and Stellar's focus on fast, low-cost payments infrastructure with support for stablecoins, CBDCs, and financial inclusion.
Billy Grunas, a developer advocate at the Stellar Development Foundation, delivers a comprehensive educational presentation on blockchain fundamentals. He explains cryptographic hashing using accessible analogies (Scrabble, coin flipping), details Bitcoin's mining process and proof-of-work consensus, discusses Ethereum's smart contracts and DeFi capabilities, and contrasts these with Stellar's specific focus on payments. Stellar enables instant, low-cost transactions through partnerships with anchors like MoneyGram, supports stablecoins like USDC, and is exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The presentation covers use cases in emerging markets (Argentina's Vibrant app), tokenization of real-world assets, and built-in decentralized exchange features including automated market makers.