DeFi, payments, tokenization, Soroban, governance, and project launches — curated daily from publications, project blogs, and community channels across the Stellar blockchain ecosystem.
Bermuda announced it will move key payment and financial-services activity onchain using the Stellar network, becoming the world's first fully onchain national economy. The initiative aims to reduce payment processing fees and increase financial inclusion through digital wallets and stablecoin-based payments.
MoneyGram and the Stellar Development Foundation extended their partnership, expanding stablecoin-backed services across Latin America. The MoneyGram app now supports USDC balances in El Salvador and Colombia, enabling faster remittances and financial access for millions of cash-dependent families.
Guide comparing payment platforms for Latin American freelancers receiving international payments in 2026, highlighting Meru as a Stellar-based solution designed for the region with low fees, real US bank accounts, and DeFi savings features.
A 12-week ambassador program at iDEAUFRO in southern Chile introduces students from diverse backgrounds to Stellar blockchain and Web3 development. The program uses Stellar Passport for identity management and project tracking, emphasizing that blockchain extends far beyond cryptocurrency to enable open, accessible global finance.
A Stanford study of 41 million USDC transactions on Airtm, a Stellar-based digital wallet, demonstrates that stablecoins are already outperforming the G20's 2030 cross-border payment targets, with 96% of transactions settling in under an hour and proving digital payments work at scale for everyday users.
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.
IRL, a cultural loyalty platform, successfully onboarded 73,000+ people into the Stellar ecosystem through real-world activations at Meridian 2025 in Rio de Janeiro and Art Basel's Stellar House in Miami, using Privy wallets and IRL Touchpoints to create seamless onchain experiences without requiring crypto knowledge.
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 Marshall Islands has launched the world's first blockchain-based universal basic income (UBI) program using the Stellar blockchain. The initiative, called ENRA, disburses USDM1—a U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign bond fully backed by U.S. Treasuries—via digital wallets to citizens across dispersed islands. This replaces physical cash deliveries with instant on-chain transfers.
The Stellar Development Foundation announced its facilitation of the world's first onchain universal basic income program in the Republic of the Marshall Isla…
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is launching blockchain-based wallets via the Lomalo app to deliver its nationwide ENRA Universal Basic Income program. F…
The Stellar Development Foundation announced an updated mandate framework for 2025 and beyond, reorganizing its XLM holdings into four strategic focus areas: SDF Development, Stellar Growth, Product and Innovation, and Assets and Liquidity. The update reflects the network's evolution toward production financial infrastructure and real-world asset adoption.
Stellar Meridian 2025 in Rio showcased the evolution of Stellar's blockchain into production-grade infrastructure for payments, identity, RWAs, and stablecoins. Key sessions highlighted open systems, regulatory progress, privacy innovations, and real-world applications from partners like MoneyGram, Nubank, and Ondo Finance. LATAM and Africa emerged as blueprints for financial inclusion and efficient money movement.
Raja Chakravorti, Chief Business Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation, describes Stellar as invisible blockchain infrastructure that seamlessly integrates with existing financial systems to drive real-world financial inclusion. He highlights key partnerships with MoneyGram and Franklin Templeton, enabling crypto-to-cash services across 430K locations in 175+ countries. Stellar's focus is on scalability, institutional adoption, and making money accessible without users noticing the blockchain.
Hana Wallet partners with MoneyGram, powered by Stellar and USDC, to enable instant cash withdrawals of stablecoins in Southeast Asia. Users can convert USDC to local cash at over 350,000 MoneyGram locations without banks or exchanges. This bridges digital finance with cash-based economies for freelancers, families, and businesses.
Stellar has partnered with Chainlink to integrate CCIP, Data Feeds, and Data Streams into the Stellar ecosystem, enabling secure cross-chain asset transfers and institutional-grade tokenization while advancing financial inclusion for underbanked populations.
Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon warns that blockchain risks repeating history by becoming controlled by corporate monopolies rather than remaining open infrastructure. She argues for permissionless networks like Stellar over closed private blockchains that concentrate power and extract value.
Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon published an essay warning that the blockchain industry risks repeating historical monopolies if private companies continue building closed, vertically integrated networks. She argues for open, permissionless infrastructure like Stellar over proprietary blockchains controlled by financial institutions.
A Stellar Development Foundation Senior Marketing Advisor shares their first-month experience joining @StellarOrg to lead APAC strategy. They highlight Stellar's focus on real-world financial problems, the recent Soroban smart contract upgrade enabling complex dApps, and opportunities for founders and developers to build on the ecosystem.
Blockchain benefits both financial institutions seeking efficiency and the 1.4 billion unbanked needing accessibility, as emphasized by Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon. Institutional adoption by firms like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock validates infrastructure that also enables fast, low-cost remittances and humanitarian aid. Success requires intentional design serving both ends of the financial spectrum.
International AIDS Society used Stellar Disbursement Platform and Decaf Wallet to distribute USDC stablecoins to 248 scholarship recipients across 50+ countries, replacing traditional cash distribution with 425 successful blockchain payments at zero failure rate.
CHATS is a blockchain-powered platform revolutionizing humanitarian aid distribution with transparency, smart contracts, and direct cash/voucher assistance to vulnerable communities. It runs on multiple chains including Stellar and Polygon, using non-custodial, gasless smart contracts and stablecoins for secure, efficient fund disbursement. Key features include offline NFC transactions, real-time dashboards, and fraud prevention, benefiting NGOs, donors, vendors, and beneficiaries.
Stablecoins have surged to $250 billion in market value, driven by regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act. The article explores how stablecoins work, their advantages over traditional banking systems, and their role in enabling financial inclusion, cross-border payments, and emerging DeFi innovations on networks like Stellar.
In Q2 2025, human.tech expanded its identity and privacy infrastructure across three product lines. Human Passport launched on Base with model-based Sybil detection. Human Wallet entered beta with a browser extension and cross-chain gas tank. Human Network grew to 27 nodes securing $3.4B in restaked assets. Most notably, the foundation secured a Stellar Community Fund grant for WhatsApp-based instant payments and global offramps.
Kura, a Stellar-based digital payment solution founded by Stéphanie Joseph, enables merchants in Central America and the Caribbean to accept instant cross-border payments. The company received funding through Stellar Community Fund Round #31 and is piloting with merchants in the Caribbean to bring financial inclusion to underserved regions.