Stellar's Protocol 20 upgrade, which enables Soroban smart contracts on Mainnet, is approaching a validator vote. The upgrade implements 12 Core Advancement Proposals and unlocks new possibilities for developers while maintaining Stellar's existing capabilities.
Protocol 20 represents a major milestone for the Stellar network, introducing smart contract capabilities through Soroban after two years of development and eleven preview releases. The upgrade implements 12 Core Advancement Proposals that modify the Stellar protocol and Core to enable Soroban functionality. With over 100 projects ready to launch at Mainnet activation—including developer tools, DeFi primitives, SDKs, and RPC services—the ecosystem is well-prepared. Soroban's development has been uniquely open and community-driven, leveraging Wasm and Rust technologies, and includes innovative features like independent resource pricing and state expiration to address scalability and state bloat. The article provides guidance on preparation, including an upgrade guide and information about new network settings that validators will control.
