Watch + listen

Stellar Development Foundation's fifth annual Meridian conference celebrates builders creating real-world blockchain solutions for financial inclusion. Speakers highlight ecosystem projects like Decaf, Flutterwave, MoneyGram, and 40 Soroban developers proving that blockchain can unlock human potential and democratize access to global finance.

ARF, a Swiss fintech licensed in 2019, launched a USDC-based credit line product to solve the cross-border payments liquidity problem by offering short-term, uncollateralized revolving credit to financial institutions, enabling same-day settlement and reducing pre-funding capital requirements.

Three Stellar ecosystem wallets (Beans, Decaf, Boss Money) demonstrated integration with the Stellar Disbursement Platform, showcasing how organizations can send bulk payments globally to recipients who onboard seamlessly into crypto wallets for the first time.

Beans app integrates with Blend protocol to enable users to deposit stablecoins in lending pools and earn yield while maintaining a traditional banking UX. The integration allows seamless conversion between fiat and digital currencies with zero fees.

Stellar Development Foundation held its Q3 2023 quarterly review, highlighting Soroban's arrival on testnet with protocol 20, the successful Meridian 2023 conference in Madrid, Circle's EuroCoin launch on Stellar, and MoneyGram's plans for a non-custodial wallet. The network saw 7.6 million total accounts and 76 million payments in Q3.

ARF, a Swiss-regulated settlement banking platform, discusses its use of Stellar for B2B financing and short-term liquidity provision. The company has processed over 300 million in on-chain traffic in seven months and is expanding into DeFi protocols like Blend and Huma to offer receivables-based lending.

Airtm, a Stellar-powered digital wallet and payments platform, demonstrates how it solves last-mile payments for the digital economy by enabling freelancers, content creators, and online taskers to receive earnings globally and cash out locally through 400+ payment methods, peer-to-peer matching, and direct fiat connections.

Stellar Development Foundation unveiled Stellar Aid Assist, a blockchain-based platform enabling organizations to distribute cash assistance to displaced people and vulnerable populations at scale. The system processes bulk payments via USDC and MoneyGram's global network, already deployed by UNHCR and International Rescue Committee in Ukraine.

Stellar Development Foundation's Q1 2023 quarterly review covering network growth to 7.3M accounts, $419M relevant asset transaction volume, Sorobon smart contract platform progress with two preview releases, and ecosystem initiatives including the $100M Sorobon Adoption Fund supporting developer adoption.

SDF Q4 2022 quarterly review covering network growth to 7.4M accounts, Soroban smart contracts launching on FutureNet with mainnet planned for H1 2023, Stellar Aid Assist deployment in Ukraine, and the 2023 roadmap focused on utility as the growth exponent.

UNHCR treasurer Carmen Hurt discusses the organization's blockchain initiative on Stellar to deliver cash assistance to 100 million displaced people globally. The project uses USDC, Circle, MoneyGram, and the Stellar Disbursement Platform to provide refugees with financial autonomy and transparency.

Anthony Scaramucci discusses the FTX collapse and Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest, reflecting on his investment in FTX and lessons learned. He emphasizes blockchain's real-world use cases like remittances and payments while advocating for regulatory clarity and decentralized systems.

Stellar Development Foundation and UNHCR launched a blockchain-based aid disbursement system live in Ukraine, delivering digital cash assistance to internally displaced persons using USDC stablecoins, Vibrant wallets, and MoneyGram's cash-out network.

Jed McCaleb and David Mazieres discuss founding Stellar, the consensus protocol, and the network's future at Meridian. They cover smart contracts, scalability, CBDCs, and the importance of execution over ideas.

Panel discussion featuring Stellar anchors Settle Network, Tempo France, and Wire discussing fiat on-ramps, stablecoin issuance, cross-border payments infrastructure, and the future of crypto adoption through seamless payment experiences.

Shift Markets announced Cables, a semi-decentralized exchange coming to Stellar that combines centralized liquidity with user self-custody, enabling faster cross-border payments and trading with better rates than traditional channels.

Panel discussion on custodial versus non-custodial wallets featuring experts from Ledger, Wirex, and academia. Panelists debate the spectrum of wallet solutions, regulatory compliance, privacy, and the role of self-custody versus institutional custody in crypto adoption.

Panel discussion on liquidity provision for Stellar cross-border payments, featuring Script3's money market protocol and ARF's credit line product for financial institutions. Speakers explore how DeFi infrastructure enables capital efficiency in remittances and FX markets.

Stellar Development Foundation announces the Anchor Platform, a new open-source tool designed to simplify anchor deployment on the Stellar network. The platform reduces setup complexity and costs, enabling businesses to connect payment infrastructure with minimal development effort.

AlfredPay, a USDC-based payments platform, launches a direct-to-bank transfer service and hybrid wallet for LATAM markets, starting with Dominican Republic operations and expanding to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia by year-end.

Technical deep dive on integrating MoneyGram's fiat on/off ramp with Stellar wallets, covering authentication flows, transaction initiation, USDC settlement, and best practices for handling deposits and withdrawals.

Donnell Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, highlighting Stellar's real-world payment solutions like the MoneyGram-Circle-USDC service enabling cash-to-digital conversions for unbanked populations globally.

CoinMe VP Sung Choi discusses how the company leverages Coinstar kiosks and physical locations to provide cash on and off ramps for crypto, with upcoming integrations for USDC on Stellar and expansion to 20,000+ ATM locations across the US.

Stellar Development Foundation and MoneyGram launched MoneyGram Access, a global cash-to-crypto on-ramp enabling users to deposit physical cash at 350,000 MoneyGram locations worldwide and receive USDC on Stellar, with no transaction fees for the first year.