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Stellar Hub leads discuss v0.9.3 release with DeFi implementation, unified wallet interface, and vision for bringing retail users to Stellar through aggregated financial services.

July marked Stellar's 12-year anniversary amid significant ecosystem growth. Three major financial institutions—MoneyGram, Figure Markets, and Range—joined as Tier One validators, expanding the network's core consensus from 7 to 10 independent operators. $1B in tokenized private credit is flowing to Stellar through institutional partners.

SDF developer marketing lead Jeremy and judge Ash Francis (3x Stellar Hacks winner) host a Twitter Space walking developers through ZK hackathon submission requirements before the July 3 deadline. Key topics include ensuring code repos are public (not private—a common mistake), demo videos that are viewable (unlisted or public, not private), and creating comprehensive READMEs that accurately reflect your project scope, including any mock data or incomplete features. Speakers discuss the advantage of submitting early and iterating, proper GitHub branching strategies for ongoing development, and address frequently asked questions about technical pitfalls. The session emphasizes that judges read your README first, making clarity and accuracy essential for standing out.

Enrique from Creit Tech discusses why his team's developer tools are everywhere in the Stellar ecosystem. Built on a philosophy of filling gaps—Expo Wallet, Stellar Wallet Kit (5k-7k weekly downloads), Router SDK, Soroban Domains—his work is mostly invisible infrastructure. He stayed in Stellar not for money, but for the community.

Trustless Work, an escrow-as-a-service platform on Stellar, and Boundless, a hackathon and bounty platform, are collaborating to run a four-day hybrid hackathon starting May 13th with a $1,500 prize pool. Boundless uses Trustless Work's escrow contracts to ensure prize funds are secured before the event begins, solving trust issues in hackathon payments.

Stellar hosted an office hours Twitter Space for an AI agents hackathon, featuring discussions on X4.2 extensions, agent monetization, and real-world use cases. Speakers from Coinbase DevRel, SDF, and ecosystem builders shared insights on specialized agents, payment infrastructure, and cross-border commerce solutions.

Stellar Development Foundation launches Stellar Hacks Agents Hackathon with $10,000 XLM prize pool. Submissions open today with April 13 deadline. Focus on building AI agents that interact with Stellar using X402 and Machine Payment Protocol (MPP) for payment-gated APIs and services.

Hosts recap December highlights in the Stellar ecosystem, including Stellar House Miami event, Protocol 25 (X-Ray) testnet launch for ZK privacy, and tools like Smoothie Capital. Lightning round covers Marshall Islands UBI on Stellar, RWA milestones over $1B, Blend integrations, and upcoming events. Emphasis on DeFi growth, developer tools, and community initiatives.