Stellar Ecosystem
News

Normal rebuilt its core infrastructure over summer to support 100k+ users. Portfolio loading improved 61x (22 seconds to 0.36 seconds), test coverage jumped from zero to 566 automated tests, and unauthenticated API routes dropped from 18 to zero. Cross-chain swaps now require one signature instead of up to four.

Mercuryo and Tangem waive platform fees on USDC and XLM purchases on Stellar for four weeks, removing acquisition costs for payment infrastructure and leaving only minimal network fees.

Normal is launching an iOS app to bring cryptocurrency to everyday users. The Stellar fintech platform offers integrated savings, investing, swapping, and diversification services backed by major ecosystem partners including Blend, DeFindex, Stripe, MoneyGram, and SDF.

Para launches Stellar support for embedded wallets, enabling fintech teams to build custom wallet experiences directly into their apps. Use cases include remittances, stablecoin payouts, and cross-border payments on Stellar's purpose-built payments network with sub-second settlement and sub-cent fees.

SocketFi Smart Accounts v2 launches with multi-wallet onboarding (passkeys, Stellar Wallet Kit, EVM wallets), embedded USDC bridge via Circle CCTP, and DeFi integrations (Aquarius, Blend). New automation features enable portfolio rebalancing, dollar-cost averaging, and scheduled disbursements. EVM users can now control Stellar smart accounts without creating a traditional Stellar keypair.

DFNS introduces Transaction Screening, which catches address poisoning attacks before transfers. Address poisoning exploits wallet copy-paste: attackers generate lookalike addresses matching visible characters, then plant them in transaction history via dust transfers. A Carnegie Mellon study found 270 million such attacks draining $83.8 million, often targeting institutional wallets. DFNS's lookalike detection flags addresses with matching visible prefixes or suffixes, informed by Carnegie Mellon research. The feature scopes per wallet, warns without blocking, and keeps repeat destinations unaffected.

Blux provides dApp infrastructure for Stellar builders, bundling multi-wallet support, email/passkey/social authentication, Stellar transaction hooks, customizable UI components, and analytics. The goal is to let developers focus on building their product rather than rebuilding the infrastructure around it.

A step-by-step guide to depositing assets into Sentora's vaults on the Stellar DeFi Hub. Covers wallet connection, vault selection, deposit confirmation, and position tracking for XLM, USDC, and PYUSD, with details on reward structures and early withdrawal consequences.

Freighter 5.43.0 ships token swaps with inline trustline creation, a customizable auto-lock timer, and encrypted mobile tab previews. The browser and mobile wallet also restores smart contract transaction signing, fixes transaction history for muxed addresses, brings federated addresses ([email protected]) back to mobile, and improves token pricing reliability.

MoneyGram, one of the world's largest cash payment networks with 500,000+ locations across 200+ countries, is now integrated with Normal Finance, a non-custodial Stellar wallet. Users can deposit cash at any MoneyGram counter to receive cryptocurrency instantly, or reverse the flow to cash out. No bank wire, no middleman, no seed phrase required—just biometric sign-in and self-custody.

Normal Finance expanded its non-custodial wallet to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, keeping Stellar at the core. Users maintain full self-custody with biometric sign-in and no seed phrases. USDC deposits earn yield from Blend and DeFindex; cash on/off-ramps route through MoneyGram.

Normal Finance expanded its non-custodial wallet to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XLM in a single app. The update preserves self-custody, biometric sign-in, and MoneyGram cash on/off-ramps.

Normal Finance adds support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XLM to its non-custodial wallet, launching July 7. The multi-asset expansion uses Turnkey-powered biometric passkeys to replace traditional seed phrases, making self-custody accessible without sacrificing security. A savings product earning ~8% APY on USDC remains foundational.

COZ demonstrated how to make blockchain invisible to users at Stellar 37°. Their prototype combines AI to parse payment files, Smart Accounts and passkeys for signing, and Pix for local onramps. The result: cross-border payments that feel native, not technical.

OtterSec researchers discovered critical vulnerabilities in React Native WebView and similar mobile wallet libraries. Missing origin isolation allows malicious dApps to access camera, GPS, and other permissions without user consent, affecting over 20 production wallets across the ecosystem.

Stellar Passport created nearly 200 new wallets at Istanbul's post-hackathon event, demonstrating how experiential marketing drives real ecosystem onboarding. A single QR scan gives users a passkey-secured wallet with instant access.

WisdomTree Prime has updated its stablecoin funding flow to help users earn regulated yield on idle assets across blockchains including Stellar. The platform supports easy ACH funding and withdrawals, gas-free transfers across eight chains, and access to 15 fully regulated tokenized funds alongside digital assets like Bitcoin and gold.

Lantern launches trading and custody for eight crypto assets including XLM. Users can buy, sell, hold, and manage Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Chainlink, and XLM within the platform via partnerships with Coinme and Fireblocks.

Stellar's native asset protocol and Soroban smart contracts form a complete payment infrastructure stack. This guide walks through building cross-border payment flows from first principles: anchors for on/off ramps, the native DEX for asset exchange, and Soroban contracts for business logic including escrow, compliance, and liquidity management.

SozuPay completes Stellar Instawards grant with end-to-end distribution infrastructure. Integrated NGO dashboard with Stellar Disbursement Platform enables organizations to distribute USDC to beneficiaries via self-custodial wallets using passkeys.

Bitget Wallet launches PayFi Odyssey, a multi-phase rewards campaign offering $300,000 XLM to users for everyday crypto payments. The campaign includes a $200,000 Odyssey Program for card activation and onchain activity, and a $100,000 QR Pay campaign across APAC and LATAM regions.

Mercy Corps Ventures, Fonkoze Foundation, and Bousol launch a blockchain-based cash pilot in rural Haiti, disbursing $80,000 in USDC stablecoins to 200 extremely vulnerable women via Stellar-powered Bousol wallets. The pilot tests whether digital cash is safer, more efficient, and more transparent than physical cash or mobile money.

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.

Merkl, a leading incentive platform, now supports non-EVM chains starting with Stellar. Protocols can launch reward campaigns on Stellar through Merkl Studio, while users earn rewards directly on the network using compatible wallets like Freighter.

Soundness deployed the only post-quantum signature migration strategy that scores YES on all four properties in Coinbase's Independent Advisory Board report. The approach uses zero-knowledge proofs of seed knowledge to enable quantum-safe wallets without address changes, asset migration, or hard forks.

Rehoboth Wallet launches soon on Stellar for African users, offering non-custodial stablecoin holding, instant transfers, QR code payments, and daily yield earning.

Decaf launches WhatsApp-based money transfers in Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. Users send USDC to a WhatsApp number; recipients receive funds instantly without app downloads or crypto knowledge and can immediately withdraw to bank accounts, access cash via MoneyGram, or use virtual cards.