Stellar Ecosystem
News

The Stellar Development Foundation released a documentary called 'The Onchain Effect' showcasing how blockchain technology is solving real-world financial problems. The film tells the story of an Australian entrepreneur in Colombia who uses Stellar and the Decaf wallet to safely pay his employees in USDC, eliminating the need to carry dangerous amounts of cash.

Fernanda Orduña Rangel, co-founder of Decaf, shares her journey from industrial engineer to blockchain developer building financial inclusion solutions on Stellar. Decaf enables users in Latin America and Africa to hold value in USDC and invest, addressing real-world financial exclusion and inflation protection.

Stellar has released an interactive Anchor Network Map that visualizes the global reach of Stellar anchors across 180 countries. The map enables developers and financial institutions to discover on/off-ramp services and understand payment rail coverage by region.

The Stellar Development Foundation donated $250,000 to support Glo Dollar's integration into the Stellar ecosystem. Glo Dollar is a stablecoin that donates 100% of its profits to charitable causes, enabling users to support philanthropy without explicit donations through remittances and social payouts.

An educational article introducing Stellar's blockchain network, explaining its Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), and demonstrating real-world applications through IBM World Wire and ClickPesa for cross-border payments and financial inclusion.

This guide explores zero-knowledge proofs (ZK Proofs) on the Stellar network, explaining how they enable privacy, scalability, and interoperability for financial applications. It covers ZK Proof fundamentals, implementations like zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs, and their applications in DeFi, financial inclusion, and privacy-preserving systems.

Decentralife interviews Bernardo Garcia, co-founder of Félix, a WhatsApp-based payments platform using AI and blockchain to enable cheap remittances for U.S.-based Latino immigrants to Latin America. Celebrating 10 years of the Stellar ecosystem, Garcia shares his immigrant journey and motivation to solve high-fee cross-border payment issues. Félix simplifies sending money via chat, delivering fast and affordable transfers.

The Stellar Development Foundation announces its commitment to increasing gender diversity in the Stellar ecosystem and partnerships with SheFi to empower women builders. SDF will sponsor SheFi's Brussels summit in July, featuring keynotes on real-world blockchain use cases and an activation showcasing Stellar's new passkeys capability.

Stellar's foundational content explaining the network's vision for interoperability—enabling blockchain networks and applications to interact with real-world services. The article highlights Stellar's unique design for low-cost value transfers, asset creation, and financial inclusion, with sections on exchanges as on/off ramps and a video featuring Candace Kelly on interoperability.

Stellar Aid Assist is a blockchain-powered aid disbursement system launched on the Stellar network that enables transparent and efficient delivery of cash assistance to vulnerable populations. The initiative, deployed with UNHCR in Ukraine, marks a year of impact in demonstrating Stellar's real-world humanitarian applications.

A Stellar Development Foundation leader reflects on their five-year tenure, highlighting SDF's strategic focus on building a viable ecosystem through payments infrastructure, on/off-ramps, and real-world assets. The post celebrates Stellar's growth metrics and the recent launch of Soroban smart contracts as the next phase of ecosystem expansion.

The Stellar Development Foundation participated in the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, hosting and participating in multiple panels and workshops focused on blockchain's role in financial inclusion, tokenization, and global financial access. SDF leadership, including CEO Denelle Dixon and Chief Legal Officer Candace Kelly, engaged with governmental, financial, and tech organizations to advance discussions on sustainable and inclusive financial systems.

The Stellar Development Foundation visited Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya in February to meet with ecosystem builders, creators, and fintech innovators. The trip highlighted local solutions addressing payment challenges, financial inclusion, and creative economy opportunities across Africa.

Cables Finance has launched on the Stellar network as a semi-decentralized FX trading platform featuring a central limit order book, slippage-free trading, and OTC capabilities. The launch represents a collaboration between Cables Finance and the Stellar Development Foundation to democratize access to cross-border payments and FX trading globally.

Stellar Aid Assist, a blockchain solution for crisis aid disbursement, has been nominated for Best Use of Web3 at the 28th Annual Webby Awards. The platform has already delivered over $2 million in aid to Ukraine-displaced individuals through UNHCR. Voting is open through April 18th.

The Stellar Development Foundation collaborated with Friends With Benefits to host an Art Basel event that raised funds for Casa Tochan, a migrant shelter in Mexico City. The event featured artist Daniel Fila (Krave) creating a live graffiti mural symbolizing financial freedom and creative liberation, aligning with Stellar's mission of financial inclusion.

The Stellar Development Foundation commissioned PwC to develop a global financial inclusion framework to help assess how blockchain-based solutions can advance digital financial inclusion and enhance the social impact of financial service providers.

Beans App and Blend Capital partnered to bring DeFi to underserved markets via Stellar's Soroban platform. Users can now convert physical cash to crypto through MoneyGram, earn yield on Blend's lending pools, and withdraw back to fiat, eliminating traditional banking intermediaries.

The Stellar Development Foundation submitted a response to the U.S. Treasury's Request for Information on Financial Inclusion, advocating for open-source blockchain technology and transparent systems to advance financial access. SDF emphasized the importance of free or low-cost digital financial services, smart contracts, and open data initiatives in creating inclusive financial systems.

Velo Labs announced partnerships between its Orbit crypto merchant network and major POS providers, targeting 500,000 users by year-end. Orbit enables QR code-based cryptocurrency payments at retail points of sale with instant fiat conversion for merchants.

BiGGER, an Australian software development company, deployed the Stellar Disbursement Platform to streamline payroll for its 100+ contractors across South America, reducing monthly processing time from 8 hours to minutes. The company now hosts SDP instances for humanitarian organizations like Casa Tochan, enabling efficient digital aid distribution.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to pilot a blockchain-powered cash assistance program in Ukraine using Stellar Aid Assist and the Stellar Disbursement Platform, reaching 167 households with digital aid delivery that achieved 100% recipient satisfaction.

The Stellar Development Foundation published a comprehensive paper examining how blockchain-based solutions advance digital financial inclusion, addressing the 1.4 billion unbanked adults globally and highlighting blockchain's role in reducing cross-border transaction costs and enabling access to formal financial services.

Stellar Aid Assist, launched one year ago in Ukraine with UNHCR, has successfully disbursed $1.1 million in aid to over 1,500 internally displaced people. The initiative's success led to the development and open-sourcing of the Stellar Disbursement Platform, enabling bulk payments across borders for governments, organizations, and companies.

Beans collaborates with the Stellar Foundation and Friends With Benefits to support Casa Tochan's migrant shelter using the Stellar Disbursement Platform. The initiative leverages the Beans wallet for fee-free, instant fund disbursements, highlighting blockchain's humanitarian potential. This partnership demonstrates accessible financial services for global good.