Stellar Ecosystem
News

Bitget Wallet integrated Stellar to expand its payment infrastructure. The 90-million-user wallet now supports USDC, XLM, and other stablecoins via crypto card, QR payments, bank transfers, and on-ramps. The rollout begins in phases with regional availability dependent on local payment integrations.

Coinbase has released x402, an open protocol that leverages the long-unused HTTP 402 status code to enable native web payments. By integrating Stellar's fast, low-cost settlement layer, x402 enables micropayments and direct machine-to-machine transactions without intermediaries.

Stellar's X-Ray protocol introduces cryptographic infrastructure for opt-in, configurable privacy on the blockchain. The network is shifting from transparency-first to privacy-as-infrastructure, enabling compliant financial flows while maintaining regulatory integration capabilities.

Xcapit's Shelter is a multi-chain value distribution platform proven through UNICEF humanitarian pilots in Peru and Kenya. Built on EVM, Stellar, and Cardano, it enables transparent, auditable cash transfers and disbursements at near-zero cost across any context from aid to corporate benefits.

UNICEF's AidLink combines Rumsan, Xcapit's Shelter, and Kotani Pay into a modular blockchain pipeline for humanitarian cash transfers. A Cusco pilot with 270 beneficiaries reduced transfer costs by over 80% and achieved sub-30-second settlement with 100% fund delivery and full on-chain auditability.

Stellar processed 3.6 billion transactions in 2025 with 99.99% uptime, reaching 10.3 million unique addresses and $785 million in onchain real-world assets. Major institutions including Franklin Templeton, U.S. Bank, PayPal, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands deployed production systems on Stellar, while payment volume hit $55.6 billion, up 52% year-over-year.

The Stellar Development Foundation hosted a successful AMA on r/CryptoCurrency on January 28, reaching ~30k views and fielding 127 comments. The discussion covered Protocol 25 upgrades, ZK primitives, smart contracts, RWAs (which crossed $1B), payments infrastructure, and ecosystem growth.

ApiCharge launches public beta for stablecoin-native payments on Stellar, letting users transact in USDC and EURC without managing native tokens or gas fees. Available on mainnet across 180 countries with settlement in seconds.

COCA launches version 2.0, shifting strategic focus from wallet to stablecoin banking ecosystem for everyday payments with simplified UX. The update introduced rewards program featuring 6% APY staking, cashback, and tier-based loyalty, supported by $10M airdrop and partnerships with Ramp Network and Everstake.

The Stellar Community Fund Growth Hack is running active promotional campaigns across payments, DeFi, and infrastructure projects. Users can earn rewards through ROZO, Myaza, Seevcash, Soroswap Earn, and Allbridge by participating in user acquisition activities like deposits, transfers, bridging, and referrals.

An essay arguing that blockchain protocols and traditional payment systems will coexist and complement each other rather than compete. The author, from the Stellar Development Foundation, advocates for building bridges between code-based coordination (open protocols) and committee-based coordination (legacy financial rails) to serve different use cases and global financial needs.

Myaza launched a 1% cashback campaign for USDC deposits via Stellar, offering users a simple way to earn rewards while accessing fast, low-cost cross-border payments built on Stellar's efficient network.

At Davos 2026, Arf, LuLu Financial Holdings, and the Stellar Development Foundation presented PayFi as a production payments layer. Moving beyond pilots, the framework integrates programmable liquidity, embedded compliance, and autonomous settlement directly into transaction execution. The panel demonstrated how this enables live cross-border payment flows without prefunding or manual orchestration on Stellar infrastructure.

This article introduces Stellar blockchain as a solution to slow, expensive cross-border payments, highlighting its fast 3-5 second confirmations, minimal fixed fees, and real-world focus via anchors and SCP consensus. It covers Stellar's origins, differences from other blockchains, tools like Stellar Laboratory for testnet experimentation, and the recent Soroban smart contracts launch. The piece promotes the first episode of 'Hola Stellar' video series for beginners.

At Stellar House Miami, the Stellar Development Foundation hosted a panel discussion featuring Crossmint, Airtm, and MoneyGram on revolutionizing cross-border payments. The panelists highlighted how blockchain infrastructure enables instant settlement, faster than traditional finance, and discussed the key ingredients for building trust in financial systems: speed, predictability, and security.

The article critiques the false dichotomy between privacy and compliance in crypto, arguing that neither extreme—full anonymity nor total transparency—will enable mainstream onchain payments. It highlights Stellar Development Foundation's stance that privacy must be compliance-ready from the start, and promotes Fairblock's selective disclosure model as a balanced solution. This approach offers confidential transactions with onchain, condition-based disclosure for regulators and auditors.

Trustless Work introduces payroll and contractor payment escrows built on Stellar, enabling organizations to manage compensation through auditable, on-chain escrow cycles with clear approval workflows and transparent fund allocation.

Range recaps its 2025 achievements in building stablecoin payments infrastructure, highlighted by the launch of Faraday for real-time routing, screening, and compliance, and the Stablecoin Explorer for cross-chain observability. The company expanded support across ecosystems like Solana, Stellar, and others, while publishing in-depth research on stablecoin usage, including USDC on Stellar. Amid major hacks and regulatory shifts like MiCAR, Range positioned itself as a leader in proactive security and enforcement for maturing stablecoin rails.

The Marshall Islands launched USDM1, a Stellar-based sovereign bond token, through the Lomalo digital wallet to disburse universal basic income to citizens. The token generates yield for holders and addresses the nation's reliance on physical cash after banking sector collapse.

VIA and the Stellar Development Foundation announced a collaboration to distribute over $200,000 in USDC stablecoins to 325 mothers in Haiti through Hope for Haiti's poverty alleviation programs. The six-month initiative leverages Stellar's blockchain network and VIA's secure mobile technology to enable direct, transparent aid disbursement while reducing cash-related safety risks.

The Stellar Development Foundation announced its facilitation of the world's first onchain universal basic income program in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, disbursing USDM1 (a sovereign digital bond) through the Lomalo wallet powered by Crossmint on Stellar.

Token Terminal's weekly Snapshot analyzes Circle's expansion beyond USDC into transaction-based revenues via CCTP, yield-bearing assets with USYC, and EU markets through EURC on Stellar and other chains. It highlights new project listings like Starknet and Deliswap, stablecoin additions, and platform updates including Queries SQL access. The newsletter showcases data-driven crypto insights with charts and product improvements.

AirTM, a cross-border payments network built on Stellar, reduces international payroll processing from days to minutes while saving companies 20-25% on fees. The company processes over $1 billion in stablecoin payments and serves 650,000 people across 192 countries by converting USDC to local currency in six minutes across 488 payment methods.

Stronghold's SHx token is now tradeable on Uphold, a multi-asset platform supporting both Stellar and Ethereum. The listing expands retail access to SHx, which powers payments, settlements, and governance within Stronghold's ecosystem.