Stellar held its Meridian conference in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 17-18, showcasing DeFi and real-world asset ecosystem growth. Major announcements included Meridian Pay smart wallet, integrations from Ondo Finance (USDY), Etherfuse (TESOURO stablebond), LayerZero, and MoneyGram, alongside discussions on stablecoin adoption in emerging markets and tokenized asset momentum.
Stellar's flagship Meridian conference in Rio de Janeiro (Sept. 17-18) highlighted the network's evolution following Protocol 23 (Whisk) and Soroban smart contract upgrades. SDF CEO Denelle Dixon unveiled Meridian Pay, an open-source smart wallet with invisible smart contracts. Enterprise partnerships dominated announcements: Ondo Finance confirmed USDY launch on Stellar, Etherfuse introduced TESOURO (a stablebond offering 13% APY on Brazilian central bank bonds), LayerZero announced Stellar integration, and MoneyGram enabled USDC holdings on the network. The conference emphasized stablecoin adoption in emerging markets, with speakers noting their role in providing dollar access for non-convertible currency regions. Real-world asset tokenization was a central theme, with DTCC declaring tokenized assets at a "no-return point." Stellar's TVL reached $150 million (200% YTD growth), and XLM is up 300% year-over-year. Technology updates included Disbursement Platform enhancements and Cheesecake Labs' AI agent-powered payment solutions.
