Project Venus is a DeFi protocol on Stellar using Turing Signing Servers (TSS) to enable trustless smart contracts without an on-chain VM. It implements short-term FX forwards to improve capital efficiency for Stellar-based financial institutions like remittance companies. TSS leverages off-chain servers (turrets) combined with Stellar's multi-sig for efficient DeFi.
Project Venus, developed by Script3 in partnership with SDF and JST Capital, demonstrates DeFi on Stellar via TSS, a network of turrets that execute smart contracts off-chain and sign transactions using Stellar's multi-signature features. This approach avoids on-chain congestion while maintaining ledger state enforcement through Horizon APIs. The protocol focuses on short-term forward contracts (SFCs), allowing remittance firms to lock in prices and settle later, introducing credit and capital efficiency to Stellar. Challenges like signer limits and data consistency were addressed by consolidating contracts and setting slippage thresholds. TSS supports WebAssembly languages like TypeScript for more accessible and testable smart contracts. Future steps include turret best practices, custom Horizon implementations, and integrating regulated assets to bridge TradFi and DeFi on Stellar.
