DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
The Stellar Development Foundation commissioned The Block to research cash-to-crypto on-and-off-ramps globally, highlighting how these access points serve as critical entry points to the digital asset economy on the Stellar network.
GetPaid is a Stellar-powered marketplace connecting African digital professionals with global companies, enabling cross-border payments in multiple currencies with fast settlement and low fees. The platform leverages Stellar's Anchor platform and SEP standards to provide accessible financial services to freelancers, creators, and traders in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Fonbnk is a fintech platform that enables financial inclusion in emerging markets by converting prepaid mobile airtime into USDC on the Stellar network, providing seamless on and off-ramps for cash-based economies across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Stellar leads all blockchains with 322,000 off-ramps and 475,000+ total cash-to-crypto ramps globally, with particular strength in underserved regions like Africa, Asia, and South America where traditional finance infrastructure is limited.
Bitso integrated Stellar's Anchor Network to enable USDC payments to Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, leveraging blockchain to improve cross-border settlement times and costs for businesses and remittances.
Meridian 2023, Stellar's fifth annual conference, returns September 26-28 in Madrid with the theme 'Unlocking Human Potential.' Actor Idris Elba will open the event, which celebrates builders creating real-world blockchain solutions for financial inclusion.
The Stellar Development Foundation explains why on and off-ramps are critical infrastructure for crypto adoption, highlighting how they enable conversion between fiat and digital currencies. SDF emphasizes that accessible ramps are essential for financial inclusion, especially for the 2 billion unbanked workers globally who rely on cash.
Argentina's economic instability and poor official exchange rates drive citizens to seek better alternatives for currency exchange. Beans, a non-custodial wallet on the Stellar blockchain, uses stablecoins like USDC to enable tax-free, market-rate conversions between USD and ARS, often surpassing the blue dollar rate. This allows faster, cheaper cross-border transfers with added features like free transactions and interest-bearing savings.
Mary Saracco, Co-Founder and CFO of Latamex, shares her founder journey building Latin America's largest fiat gateway on Stellar. Her experience at the World Bank and frustrations with cross-border banking friction inspired her to create blockchain-enabled financial services for her home region.
SCF Kickstart bootcamp concluded its first 2023 cohort, supporting 30 Web3 startups building on Stellar and Soroban. CashAbroad won first place with $15,000 XLM for its LATAM cross-border payment platform, followed by Ripe and uils as runners-up.
SDF celebrated Consensus 2023 in Austin, showcasing Stellar's real-world utility beyond payments. CEO Denelle Dixon discussed blockchain's role in humanitarian aid, while the team highlighted Stellar Aid Assist and partnerships with major players like Franklin Templeton.
Cebuana Lhuillier, the Philippines' largest microfinance provider, integrated with Stellar to offer blockchain-based remittances to 2,500 branches, enabling near-instant settlement and lower fees for cross-border payments.
AMA recap with MYKOBO CEO Seyi Akin-Olugbemi, issuer of the EURC Euro stablecoin on Stellar. He discusses his background in fintech, the motivation behind MYKOBO for financial inclusion in Africa, and why Stellar is ideal for value transfer. MYKOBO app supports EURC, USDC, XLM, and AQUA, all on Stellar, with upcoming liquidity pools.
Rubén Galindo Steckel, CEO of Airtm, discusses how his Stellar-powered platform enables Latin Americans to participate in the global economy through fast, low-fee dollar accounts and flexible cash-out options, breaking down barriers to international financial participation.
Mercado Bitcoin and Stellar successfully tested a Brazilian CBDC on public blockchain, demonstrating delivery versus payment transactions with digital real. The pilot was part of Brazil's Central Bank LIFT Challenge to explore digital real use cases.
TASCOMBANK released findings from its electronic money pilot on Stellar, recommending blockchain adoption for Ukraine's payment system. The report highlights benefits including transparency, security, low costs, and high throughput for issuing hryvnia-nominated electronic money.
MYKOBO recaps its 2022 journey, from inception inspired by remittance challenges to launching Version 2 on the Stellar blockchain with EURC stablecoin. Key achievements include over 400 users, 155K EUR traded volume, and integration with Stellar protocols like SEP-6, SEP-24, and SEP-31. The company anticipates 2023 expansions like EURC swaps, new payment corridors, IBAN services, and debit cards.
Airtm CEO Rubén Galindo Steckel discusses how blockchain and cross-border payments can enable Latin Americans to participate in the digital economy, reducing dependency on unstable local governments and creating income opportunities without migration.
Stellar's Meridian 2022 conference returns to Rome for the first time since 2019, bringing together the community to tackle urgent global challenges through collective problem-solving and diverse perspectives on blockchain solutions.
LINK, a Nigerian fintech that won Stellar Community Fund Round 10, uses Stellar's anchor infrastructure and NGNC stablecoin to enable fast, cheap cross-border payments across Africa. The company has integrated four businesses with $825k MRR and plans to scale its P2P platform to 50+ countries.
SDF's Marketing Grants Program has distributed over 1 million dollars to Stellar ecosystem projects since its January relaunch. The program supports user acquisition and growth through paid media, events, PR, and marketing resources for qualified projects aligned with financial inclusion.
Nium partners with Stellar Development Foundation to enable fiat payouts in 190 countries via API integration, allowing businesses to access real-time cross-border payment services without building their own infrastructure.
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America's largest digital asset platform, now enables USD Coin trading on the Stellar network with transaction fees of a fraction of one cent, expanding USDC accessibility and liquidity for the region.
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America's largest digital assets platform, now offers USDC on the Stellar network, enabling customers to transact with fees of a fraction of a cent. This marks the first time the exchange has offered the same asset across multiple networks.
The Stellar Development Foundation joined Mercado Bitcoin's CBDC consortium for Brazil's LIFT Challenge to develop a digital Real. The initiative aims to demonstrate instant settlement and delivery versus payment for crypto-assets, with a pilot potentially launching in Q4 2022.
Mercado Bitcoin partners with Stellar Development Foundation on LIFT Challenge Real Digital, exploring CBDC use cases for Brazil's central bank digital currency launching in H2 2022.