Stellar Ecosystem
News

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.

RedSwan Digital Real Estate, a FINRA-regulated marketplace, has tokenized $100 million in commercial real estate assets on the Stellar blockchain, enabling fractional ownership and 24/7 secondary market liquidity for institutional-grade properties.

Ondo Finance has launched USDY, its yield-bearing stablecoin, on the Stellar network, enabling users to access 5.3% APY on tokenized U.S. Treasuries. The integration unlocks new use cases in payments, treasury management, collateralization, and cross-border transactions on Stellar.

This article compares Hedera Hashgraph and Stellar Lumens as leading platforms for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, highlighting their distinct strengths: Hedera excels in enterprise-grade institutional tokenization with its native token service and partnerships like Lloyds Bank, while Stellar dominates in payments, stablecoins, and financial inclusion with backing from Franklin Templeton and MoneyGram.

Stellar completed a mainnet vote to launch Protocol 23, introducing eight Core Advancement Protocols that enable parallel smart contract execution, faster transaction processing, and improved scalability. The upgrade comes as Stellar's DeFi ecosystem surges with institutional adoption, including Franklin Templeton's BENJI fund and Circle's USDC.

21X, Europe's first fully regulated DLT trading and settlement system, has launched on the Stellar network as its second blockchain, enabling institutional trading of tokenized securities on a regulated secondary market in the EU.

EquitX introduces synthetic stocks (xAssets) on the Stellar blockchain, enabling users to gain exposure to real-world equities like Tesla without owning actual shares. The platform supports long, short, swing, and passive investment strategies through minting, trading on DEXs, and stability pools. It emphasizes maintaining collateral ratios above 110% to avoid liquidation while offering DeFi accessibility.

EquitX has received two awards totaling $150,000 from the Stellar Community Fund to develop its Synthetic Stocks Protocol on the Stellar blockchain. The protocol enables synthetic small-cap equities like xUSD and xTesla using collateralized debt positions backed by XLM. This bridges traditional markets with DeFi, leveraging Stellar's low-cost blockspace, DEXs, and Soroban smart contracts.

EquitX is a DeFi protocol on Stellar that enables synthetic equities and starts with xUSD, minted via collateralized debt positions using XLM. It avoids traditional tokenization issues by using a derivatives model with oracles, stability pools, and programmatic liquidations for price tracking and solvency. This boosts Stellar's TVL, XLM utility, and provides stock-like exposure with crypto-native composability.

XLM climbed 3% to break through $0.37 resistance on above-average volumes as Stellar prepares Protocol 23 upgrade. South Korean exchanges Bithumb and Upbit will pause XLM deposits/withdrawals Sept. 3 to support the network enhancement, which aims to expand interoperability for the $460 million in tokenized assets already on Stellar.

The US Department of Commerce has posted quarterly GDP data on the Stellar network for the first time in US government history, creating an immutable and publicly auditable record of critical economic data. This development demonstrates government adoption of blockchain technology and enables new use cases in DeFi, automated trading, and real-world asset tokenization.

Stellar has established major institutional partnerships with Circle, MoneyGram, Franklin Templeton, PayPal, and ClickPesa, demonstrating its utility for stablecoin issuance, tokenized assets, cross-border payments, and financial inclusion. The network now supports over $184 million in USDC and $502 million in tokenized funds, positioning itself as a bridge between traditional finance and crypto.

Metafyed, a blockchain tokenization platform for private credit and real-world assets, has secured USD 5.5 million in funding from leading investors including Block Tides and venture DAOs. The company is incubated by Cyberport Hong Kong, Draper, and the Stellar Development Foundation, focusing on SMBs in Asia. The funding will expand their marketplace, strengthen compliance, and enhance AI-powered features.

The Stellar Development Foundation has formed a strategic partnership with Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange, involving a direct SDF investment to accelerate tokenization and real-world asset adoption on the Stellar network. The collaboration leverages Archax's regulatory credentials and institutional relationships to bring institutional-grade tokenized assets on-chain.

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has invested in UK-regulated digital asset platform Archax to advance tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) on the Stellar blockchain. Archax has integrated Stellar into its tokenization tools and launched a tokenized Aberdeen money market fund on the network. This partnership supports the rapidly growing RWA market, projected to reach trillions by 2030.

The Stellar Development Foundation has joined the ERC3643 Association to advance compliant asset tokenization standards. SDF will contribute to promoting real-world asset adoption, open-source development, and cross-chain interoperability between Stellar and Ethereum-based standards.

The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) #37 round awarded $1,861,405 worth of XLM to 19 innovative projects building on the Stellar blockchain. Projects span DeFi protocols, privacy solutions, real-world assets, wallets, and developer tools. Out of 76 submissions, 43 were first-time applicants, showcasing the vibrant Stellar ecosystem.

July was a landmark month for Stellar, featuring new SDF leadership appointments, major integrations with Visa for stablecoin settlement, and significant ecosystem advances in DeFi, cross-chain communication, and developer tooling. The network celebrated its 11th birthday while the community engaged in global hackathons and grant programs.

Stellar Development Foundation announces major executive hires: José Fernández da Ponte (former PayPal blockchain head) as President and Chief Growth Officer, and Jason Karsh (ex-Block) as Chief Marketing Officer. The announcements coincide with XLM rallying over 80% and Franklin Templeton's $446M tokenized U.S. Treasuries integration on Stellar.

GearUp, a Stellar-based marketplace for creative professionals, has attracted over 500 signups and 140+ equipment listings in less than three months on mainnet. The platform enables creators to rent gear, purchase equipment, access courses, and book studio spaces in a unified ecosystem.

Dobprotocol is a Web3 platform combining AI, tokenization, and blockchain to enable the 'Economy of Machines,' where physical devices like EV chargers and autonomous scooters become tokenized, income-generating assets. Selected for the Stellar Community Fund's SCF Kickstart program, it offers transparent, fractional ownership and real-time monitoring of machine performance. Founders highlight the program's role in strategic alignment and rapid development.

May was a dynamic month for Stellar featuring major global events (Consensus in Toronto, Ledger Leaders Week in Mexico City), new DeFi adoption programs (Hana Wallet & Balanced rewards, Dogstar Protocol), and significant technical upgrades including Stellar Core's TPS nearly doubling to 2,032.