Tomer Weller, CPO of Stellar, discusses the implementation of smart contracts via Soroban, the network's consensus mechanism, and upcoming innovations including scalability improvements and privacy solutions to support institutional adoption.
In this interview, Tomer Weller, Chief Product Officer of Stellar, explains how smart contracts were brought to the network through Project Soroban, a virtual machine designed for simplicity and robustness. He details Stellar's unique proof-of-agreement consensus mechanism based on reputation and quorum intersection, which appeals to traditional financial institutions. Weller discusses the network's focus on real-world assets, with a goal of $3 billion on-chain this year, and highlights partnerships like Visa's support for Stellar USDC settlement. He outlines upcoming technical priorities including scalability improvements to reduce block times from five seconds to sub-one-second, privacy solutions to address institutional concerns, and ecosystem growth through DeFi and RWA applications. The conversation covers stable coin innovation, the role of wallets in mainstream adoption, and the importance of solving custody challenges.