DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Stellar Development Foundation and Keybase announced a 2 billion XLM airdrop worth roughly $120 million, distributing 100 million XLM monthly to Keybase's 300,000 active users over 20 months. The partnership aims to introduce cryptocurrency to non-crypto-native users through an existing messaging platform.
Stellar's Decentralized Exchange faces a liquidity problem that market makers can solve. The SDF built Kelp, a free open-source trading bot in Golang that automates market-making strategies on Stellar's DEX and centralized exchanges, with v1.7.1 now available.
Binance discovered it earned 9.5 million XLM in staking rewards since 2018 and will now officially support XLM staking, distributing accumulated rewards to users starting in 42 days with September payouts worth 10-12 months of typical monthly rewards.
Crypto.com listed Stellar Lumens (XLM) on its Wallet & Card App, enabling users to purchase XLM fee-free via credit card or bank transfer and spend it globally through the MCO Visa Card at 40+ million merchants.
Stellar suffered a critical inflation bug in April 2017 where an attacker exploited the merge function to create 2.2 billion XLM (worth ~$10M at the time). The SDF patched the bug, disclosed it in release notes, and burned equivalent XLM from reserves to prevent dilution.
Stellar launched as Coinbase Earn's largest partner, committing 1 billion XLM to reward users for educational videos about the platform. Users can earn up to $50 in XLM by completing lessons and referring friends.
Coinbase Pro added support for Stellar (XLM), enabling deposits and trading. The listing follows Stellar's recent logo redesign and could lead to XLM being added to the main Coinbase exchange, historically boosting cryptocurrency prices.
HBUS listed Stellar Lumens (XLM) alongside Monero and Steem on its U.S. digital asset marketplace Huobi.com, bringing total tradeable assets to 15. The exchange plans to release an asset framework for transparency in its listing process.
SDF announced its largest lumen distribution to date: up to 500 million XLM going to Blockchain wallet's 30 million users. Stellar becomes the fourth top-line currency in one of the world's most popular digital wallets, alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin Cash.
TokenSoft, a compliance platform for crypto startups, is now officially supporting token launches on the Stellar protocol. The company previously focused on Ethereum-based projects but cited Stellar's maturity and growing demand from entrepreneurs as reasons for expanding support.
Kik launched a crypto-economy allowing users to earn and spend Kin tokens through the Kin Marketplace Beta. Users can earn Kin by completing quizzes, tutorials, and polls, then spend it on premium app themes. Kin operates on its own blockchain forked from Stellar, enabling zero-fee transactions.
Kik's Kin Foundation announced it will fork Stellar to create its own blockchain for the Kin token, eliminating transaction fees entirely to enable micropayments. The move trades some decentralization for zero-cost transactions, using federated nodes run by ecosystem partners rather than Stellar's validator model.
Kik announced its kin token will operate on both Ethereum and Stellar blockchains simultaneously using atomic swaps. Stellar will handle transactions with faster confirmation times and lower fees, while Ethereum maintains liquidity, allowing the messaging app to scale its cryptocurrency payments system.
Mobius Network raised $39 million in an ICO on Stellar, hitting its hard cap in just two hours. The startup chose Stellar over Ethereum due to speed, cost, and security concerns, positioning itself to make crypto integration easy for traditional tech companies.
Mobius Network raised $35 million in a token presale on Stellar, exceeding its $25 million goal. The smart contract platform plans to facilitate machine-to-machine micropayments and will launch its full ICO on January 18, 2018.
Kik announced plans to migrate its Kin token from Ethereum to Stellar, citing Ethereum's scaling limitations and high transaction fees. CEO Ted Livingston stated Stellar's design is better suited for Kin's needs, with testing beginning by end of December and a potential Q2 rollout.
Lightyear.io counsel Em Lindsay clarifies three common misconceptions about ICO legal compliance: utility tokens can still be securities, the Howey test isn't the only framework courts use, and regulatory compliance extends beyond securities law to taxes, consumer protection, and AML requirements.
Stellar offers a superior platform for ICOs compared to Ethereum, featuring built-in token issuance, a decentralized exchange, lower fees, faster transactions, and enhanced security for projects that don't require complex smart contracts.
Tutorial on issuing custom tokens on Stellar, demonstrating how to create, distribute, and manage tokens like the example HUG token with fixed supply and built-in exchange capabilities.
Stellar.org announced a second lumen distribution program offering 16 billion lumens (16% of initial supply) to bitcoin holders, with claims opening June 27, 2017. The giveaway reflects Bitcoin's influence on Stellar's design and aims to build community ownership of the network.
Stellar.org announced a lumen giveaway program for Bitcoin holders, reserving 19 billion lumens (19% of initial supply). Starting July 5, 2016, Bitcoin holders can claim lumens proportional to their BTC holdings through a claim page or participating exchanges.
Stellar Development Foundation announced a public auction of stellars via Haste.co.nz, with 650 million STR placed at a 30-day trailing average price of $0.0031/STR. Bitcoin trading was added via Poloniex and Kraken to maintain price parity.
