DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Tribal Credit, Bitso, and the Stellar Development Foundation launched a cross-border payment system enabling SMBs in Mexico and the U.S. to transact using USDC stablecoins, reducing costs and settlement times for international payments.
The Stellar Development Foundation announced a $40M investment in Tala, a fintech company serving unbanked populations in Kenya, Mexico, India, and the Philippines. Tala will expand its digital banking platform to offer borrowing, saving, and payments using Stellar assets and USDC stablecoins.
VersaBank and Stablecorp are launching VCAD, a Canadian stablecoin issued by a North American bank and live on Stellar. Each VCAD unit represents a one-dollar deposit with VersaBank, offering fast, low-cost cross-border transactions.
Stellar Development Foundation moved $150 million of USDC on-chain to provide debt financing and working capital loans to ecosystem projects, expanding financial support beyond grants to accelerate growth in cross-border payments and remittances.
This article provides a deep dive into the tokenomics of YBX, the platform token for YieldBlox, a decentralized money market protocol on the Stellar blockchain. It outlines five growth-positive utilities including staking, governance, lending/borrowing incentives, and future AMM integration, designed to bootstrap growth for both YieldBlox and the Stellar ecosystem. The model emphasizes cooperative strategies for maximum value accrual through fee redistribution and reduced sell pressure.
Bitt and the Stellar Development Foundation were selected as finalists in Singapore's Global CBDC Challenge to develop a retail central bank digital currency solution using Bitt's Digital Currency Management System integrated with the Stellar network.
Stellar Development Foundation and Advent International are reportedly considering acquiring MoneyGram, the global money transfer company. The move reflects growing interest in integrating blockchain technology with legacy cross-border payment infrastructure.
The Stellar Development Foundation joined the Association of Ukrainian Banks as a member, formalizing its advisory role in helping Ukraine develop blockchain and virtual asset capabilities alongside the country's banking system.
Wyre launched a Savings API enabling FinTechs to offer yield-earning savings products using Stellar USDC, with returns far exceeding traditional U.S. savings accounts. The API provides easy on-ramps to Stellar assets and monthly compounding earnings with no ACH fees.
Stellar Community Fund seed round №1 concluded with 8 projects receiving 5M XLM in grants. Winners include COINQVEST, Anclap, OptionBlox/YieldBlox, Task.io, Litemint, Leaf Global Fintech, Mojoflower, and Blocknify. Two additional rounds planned for 2021 with process improvements including Discord migration and budget requests.
Stellar Community Fund Seed Round finalists Leaf Global Fintech and Task.io are building wallet and NGO payment solutions on Stellar. Leaf enables cross-border remittances via USSD on basic phones; Task streamlines nonprofit operations with transparent payment tracking and donor accountability.
The Stellar Development Foundation invested $3 million in Tribal Credit, a fintech platform serving SMEs in emerging markets. Tribal will build blockchain products on Stellar to provide faster, cheaper cross-border payments and banking services across Latin America.
The Stellar Development Foundation emphasizes financial literacy as a critical component of equitable financial access, highlighting that 57% of American adults lack basic financial knowledge. SDF is launching initiatives to partner with organizations and advocate for legislation prioritizing financial literacy education alongside blockchain technology adoption.
The Stellar Development Foundation submitted a supplemental comment letter to FinCEN opposing proposed cryptocurrency transaction reporting rules, arguing they're unsuited for blockchain and could harm financial inclusion.
Stellar USDC combines Circle's trusted USD stablecoin with Stellar's efficient network for fast, cheap cross-border payments. Transactions cost about $0.0001 and settle in seconds, with 24/7 forex trading on Stellar's DEX.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $750,000 in Cowrie, a Nigeria-based fintech platform using Stellar for crypto remittances. The funding supports expansion of payment corridors between Africa and the world, though Cowrie recently suspended naira transactions due to Nigeria's crypto banking restrictions.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $750K in Cowrie Integrated Systems, a London-based fintech enabling cross-border payments and remittances across Africa, particularly Nigeria, while engaging with regulators on cryptocurrency policy.
Stellar USDC and FinClusive launched a stablecoin-focused banking partnership enabling businesses to access digital currency with embedded compliance controls, combining accounts and payments services with KYC/AML requirements for regulatory-compliant cross-border transactions.
Bidali launched a pilot in Bermuda enabling residents to purchase rum with digital Bermuda dollars on the Stellar network, marking progress toward the island's comprehensive crypto payments system.
Stellar Development Foundation invested $5 million in Wyre during a Series B2 funding round to expand USDC on/off ramps and payment infrastructure across USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, and AUD pairs.
Signal is experimenting with integrating MobileCoin, a privacy cryptocurrency built on a modified version of Stellar's consensus algorithm, into its messaging…
SDF invested $5 million in Wyre, a blockchain payments company, to bring payment APIs and USDC on/off ramps to the Stellar ecosystem. The integration will ena…
Velo Labs' partners Lightnet Group and SEBA Bank completed the first live transaction on the Federated Credit Exchange Network (FCX), exchanging vUSD and vCHF digital credits pegged to fiat currencies using VELO tokens as collateral and settlement.
The Stellar Development Foundation criticized FinCEN's proposed rule on convertible virtual currency transactions, arguing it was developed without sufficient industry input and would hinder law enforcement while stifling blockchain innovation and financial inclusion.
Bitbond and Bankhaus von der Heydt launched EURB, the first EUR stablecoin issued directly by a banking institution on Stellar. The 1:1 EUR-backed asset provides a new on/off-ramp for the network and enables regulated tokenized securitization.
Meridian 2020, SDF's annual conference, brought together global leaders including Tim Berners-Lee and former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim to discuss blockchain's role in financial inclusion, cross-border payments, and solving real-world challenges through open networks and decentralized technology.
Velo Labs, a Stellar-based fintech platform, announced a partnership with Terra to build a next-generation payment system. The team has also partnered with Band Protocol for FX data oracles and Matrixport Cactus for custodial services, advancing its federated credit exchange network for Southeast Asian remittances.
Revolut, a U.K.-based fintech firm, has added Stellar Lumens (XLM) to its cryptocurrency trading platform in response to user demand. The move is part of a broader effort to overhaul its crypto product and give customers legal ownership of their digital assets.