Stellar Ecosystem
News

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.

Stellar Development Foundation has contacted MoneyGram International about a potential acquisition in partnership with private equity firm Advent, according to Bloomberg. The deal would represent a significant move into remittances and could reshape the competitive landscape following Ripple's previous investment and subsequent exit from MoneyGram.

Project Venus is a DeFi protocol on Stellar using Turing Signing Servers (TSS) to enable trustless smart contracts without an on-chain VM. It implements short-term FX forwards to improve capital efficiency for Stellar-based financial institutions like remittance companies. TSS leverages off-chain servers (turrets) combined with Stellar's multi-sig for efficient DeFi.

SDF released its Q2 2021 report highlighting network growth, two protocol upgrades, $18M in Enterprise Fund investments, and the approval of Automated Market Makers for Protocol 18. The network demonstrated resilience after a temporary validator outage in April.

The Stellar Development Foundation relaunched its demo wallet with a unified interface consolidating separate protocol testing tools. The redesigned wallet now supports multiple SEPs including deposits, withdrawals, cross-border payments, and regulated assets, serving both developers and non-technical users learning Stellar protocols.

Liquid exchange now offers Stellar USDC with fee-free withdrawals, enabling customers to save $12-15 per transaction and settle in seconds compared to Ethereum-based USDC.

DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation launched a three-day Blockchain Bootcamp for African startups to build on Stellar, with prizes up to 20,000 USDC and potential follow-on funding opportunities.

Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, discusses how Stellar addresses financial inclusion in emerging markets by reducing remittance costs, enabling women's financial access, and providing SMBs with tools to compete globally through low-cost, fast transactions.

Stellar Protocol 18 proposal to add automated market makers (AMMs) was approved for implementation on June 25, 2021. AMMs will provide an alternative liquidity source alongside the existing order book exchange, enabling easier participation in market making and improving cross-asset payment efficiency.

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.

SDF convened Ukrainian financial leaders with blockchain experts to discuss virtual asset strategy ahead of new legislation. The event featured industry practitioners sharing real-world use cases on compliance, tokenization, CBDCs, and stablecoins to help shape Ukraine's emerging virtual asset ecosystem.

The Stellar Development Foundation announced changes to its Debian package distribution for Stellar Core and Horizon nodes. Support for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS has ended, and operators must upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04 LTS, with SDF committing to support all future Ubuntu LTS releases.

Stellar Protocol 17 introduced Asset Clawback on June 1st, 2021, enabling issuers to recover tokens from holders with opt-in consent. This feature facilitates regulated asset issuance like bonds and equities while maintaining transparency through visible account flags.

Stellar Development Foundation's Lisa Nestor discusses how USDC on Stellar enables fast, cheap cross-border payments and remittances, with transaction costs measured in fractions of a cent versus thousands on other networks.

This article explains how to use the Stellar network for everyday payments and remittances, emphasizing its speed, low cost, and ecological benefits over traditional banking. It covers wallet options like Keybase, Lobstr, Freighter, and hardware wallets, security best practices, and methods to spend XLM via exchanges or crypto debit cards. The author shares personal experiences sending XLM to family members.

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 Development Foundation invested $15 million in Airtm, a Latin American digital wallet and P2P exchange platform, to expand financial access in underserved regions. The partnership will integrate Airtm with Stellar's network and USDC stablecoin to enable broader payment services.

The Stellar public network successfully upgraded to Protocol 17 on June 1, 2021, introducing Asset Clawback—a feature enabling businesses to issue regulated financial instruments like bonds and equities while maintaining compliance capabilities.

Stellar Development Foundation invests $15 million in Airtm, a Mexican digital wallet and P2P exchange platform serving Latin America. The funds will support Airtm's integration with Stellar to enable faster, cheaper, and safer payment services across emerging markets.

The Stellar Development Foundation's Enterprise Fund invested $15 million in Airtm, a Mexico-based digital wallet and crypto exchange. This is SDF's largest investment on record and part of a broader strategy to expand cross-border payments and financial inclusion in Latin America.