A Stellar Development Foundation Senior Marketing Advisor shares their first-month experience joining @StellarOrg to lead APAC strategy. They highlight Stellar's focus on real-world financial problems, the recent Soroban smart contract upgrade enabling complex dApps, and opportunities for founders and developers to build on the ecosystem.
The author, who previously worked at Solana for 5 years, joined @StellarOrg as Senior Marketing Advisor after a chance encounter at Consensus Toronto. They explain why Stellar stands apart: it solves real financial problems like cross-border payments, stablecoin issuance, and financial inclusion, with partnerships from Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, Visa, Mastercard, and others. The recent Soroban protocol upgrade enabled smart contract functionality, transforming Stellar from a payments-focused blockchain into a platform for complex dApps. The author emphasizes the ecosystem's current state as a blank canvas with significant opportunity, backed by a $100M Grant Fund, and invites founders, developers, and community members to participate through SCF, the Developer Hub, and the Stellar Ambassador Program.
