Stellar Ecosystem
News

Circle's euro-backed stablecoin EURC is now live on Stellar, enabling real-time, low-cost cross-border payments and remittances in euros. Ripio became the first to integrate EURC on Stellar into its wallet app.

The article explores the evolution of identity authentication from paper documents to Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs), emphasizing self-sovereign identity on blockchain. It highlights benefits like ownership, privacy, interoperability, and real-world applications in government, refugees, finance, and more. It teases upcoming content on implementing DIDs on the Stellar network.

The Stellar Development Foundation announced its support for the World Economic Forum's Humanitarian and Resilience Investing Initiative, positioning itself as the sole blockchain organization in the initiative. SDF aims to leverage blockchain technology to address poverty and insecurity affecting 2 billion people globally while advancing its mission of inclusive financial infrastructure.

Beans, a non-custodial payments app on Stellar, announced major updates including a redesigned UI, support for Nigerian Naira and USD bank deposits/withdrawals via new partners Link and Kado, an in-app QR scanner, and a new support page. The app has doubled its user base over three consecutive months.

The Stellar Development Foundation unveiled a new brand identity centered on the tagline 'Where Blockchain Meets the Real World,' reflecting its focus on real-world utility and financial inclusion. The rebrand includes updated visual design, website, and a partnership with actor Idris Elba as an ambassador, whose mission aligns with SDF's commitment to creating equitable access to opportunity.

This article explains how decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing markets work, contrasting them with traditional banking by highlighting their accessibility, trustlessness, and use of smart contracts. It covers the mechanics of liquidity pools, collateral requirements, and integration with oracles and AMMs, while discussing risks like liquidation and price volatility.

The Stellar Development Foundation is accepting applications for its Female Founders Matching Fund, which provides $200K–$500K investments to female-led projects building on Stellar. Applicants must submit detailed information about their project, fundraising status, and planned Stellar integration.

The Stellar Development Foundation invested in MoneyGram International as a minority investor during MoneyGram's go-private transaction, securing a board seat to support MoneyGram's blockchain and digital expansion.

The Stellar Development Foundation partnered with PwC US to create a framework for assessing blockchain protocols' electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The guide addresses CBDCs' potential for financial inclusion, interoperability, and sustainability on open networks.

UNHCR and the UN's technology provider UNICC are piloting Stellar Aid Assist, a blockchain-based cash disbursement solution using the Stellar network and USDC stablecoin to deliver humanitarian aid directly to displaced persons in Ukraine. The program enables instant bulk transfers, eliminates banking requirements, and provides full transaction traceability.

The Stellar Development Foundation has published a comprehensive guidebook for policymakers and regulators on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), addressing the growing global interest in government-backed digital assets on blockchain.

GetPaid is a Stellar-powered marketplace connecting African digital professionals with global companies, enabling fast cross-border payments in multiple currencies. Built on Stellar's Anchor platform, it addresses talent supply challenges while providing cost-efficient payment solutions for freelancers and creators across Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Félix, a WhatsApp-based remittance platform, partners with Bitso to enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments from the US to Latin America using USDC on the Stellar network. The solution reduces remittance times from hours or days to seconds while dramatically lowering transaction fees.

MoneyGram International has launched MoneyGram Ramps, a cash-to-crypto on and off-ramp service powered by the Stellar blockchain and USDC stablecoin. The service enables unbanked and underbanked populations to convert physical cash to digital assets at MoneyGram's 480,000+ locations worldwide, addressing the critical last-mile problem in blockchain adoption.

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.

Vesseo is a wallet app built on Stellar by Sunship, Inc. (a Stellar Development Foundation subsidiary) that enables Argentines to easily purchase and hold USDC stablecoins to protect against peso inflation. The app leverages Stellar's speed, low fees, and integrations with anchors like Settle and Circle to provide a simple user experience for accessing dollar-backed value.

Stellar addresses financial exclusion by enabling unbanked and underbanked populations to access digital financial services through on and off-ramps, asset tokenization, and partnerships with services like MoneyGram and Stellar Aid Assist, though 1.4 billion unbanked people globally means much work remains.