.svg){kind=icon}
Learn
Use Stellar
Developers
Community
Foundation
Smart Contracts
Monthly RoundUp
The world has changed a lot since our last newsletter. Even though times feel uncertain and volatile, we continue to focus on doing the work that needs to be done, staying committed to our strategic roadmap. Over the past few weeks, SDF has:
It’s easy to burn out these days with the combination of current events and running at full throttle – so please remember to take care of yourself.
denelle
SDF is working with the Stellar ecosystem to build smart contracts that will allow developers to grow the Stellar ecosystem and build new financial instruments to promote inclusion. With so much knowledge and experience out there now, there has never been a better time in history to build a new smart contract platform.
One of the first major decisions to make in building a smart contracts platform in 2022 is choosing a smart contract platform. This post is going to walk you through the decision-making process, the options we considered, and the pros and cons of each.
Shift Markets and Nexus Markets are thrilled to release a new Stellar integration to their institutional and retail clients that enables deposit and withdrawal of USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar, as well as seamless swap capabilities of USDC on Stellar with other blockchain implementations of USDC, such as Ethereum. USDC and other Stellar-based stablecoins will also be available in the Nexus Vaults, where clients will have the opportunity to earn annual percentage yield (APY) on their assets.
The Stellar Development Foundation and MoneyGram International today announced a new partnership with Techstars, a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized programming for entrepreneurs. The program will recruit founders across the world who are focused on driving technological innovation in areas such as blockchain and digital payments to further streamline cross-border payments and support financial inclusion.
DFS Lab in collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation have launched a call for applicants for their second Blockchain Bootcamp, designed to give early to mid-stage startups in Africa an opportunity to build on Stellar, an open-source blockchain network for financial services and products.
SDF is growing its Stellar Advocacy Program with the launch of Stellar Campus Experts! Stellar Campus Experts is a community-driven program for students looking to grow their blockchain knowledge and support blockchain technology in their campus communities.
The Stellar Development Foundation has announced the launch of the $30 million Matching Fund which takes a novel approach by co-investing alongside investors globally, matching investments raised from a lead investor up to $500,000. The Fund is for pre-seed to Series B companies interested in building on the Stellar blockchain, and provides a new opportunity for early-stage companies to augment their existing fundraising efforts.
The truth is, to build a more inclusive, better financial system, we need to have more diverse perspectives building it, too – which includes women. If you’re looking to leverage Stellar’s strengths for your business, please apply to the Matching Fund. We want more women to bring their ideas, perspectives, and projects to Stellar and are committed to working with such women to build a more inclusive future.
To capture the attitudes of today when it comes to crypto, we’ve teamed up with digital payment platform Wirex once again to launch Entering the Mainstream: Cryptocurrency Adoption in 2022. Last year’s report provided insight into user profiles, spending habits, and overall sentiment towards cryptocurrency. This year? We’re building on our earlier findings, while addressing any previous gaps and identifying new trends that have emerged in the past year.
The order’s direction to create more robust cooperation within the government is the progress we’ve been working towards, and we welcome it. We hope it leads to a future regulatory state where existing agencies have more clarity on how the existing regulatory framework can and should be applied to the blockchain industry and the identification of any gaps.
The Stellar Development Foundation sponsored the Finance 3.0 Summit at SXSW and we were stunned at the turnout; it was a clear and physical reminder of how many people beyond the blockchain and crypto industry are excited to learn more about what this technology is capable of.
Leaders of companies operating in Africa shed light on why they’re using Stellar and what opportunities and challenges they see, giving advice to the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs in the space.
SDF has announced a new project: Starbridge, a trust-minimized integration between Stellar and Ethereum.
Joining the ranks of those supporting deposit and withdrawal of USDC on Stellar is Canadian crypto trading platform Newton. Listing USDC with Stellar capabilities on Newton means users who already enjoy trading USDC with the platform’s low-cost spreads can now also enjoy near-zero transaction fees—just fractions of a cent. It also means near-instant speeds on USDC funding and withdrawals. Newton makes it possible for users to move seamlessly between Stellar and other blockchain implementations of USDC (such as Ethereum) putting more control in the user’s hands, and offering a faster, more affordable on/off ramp with USDC on Stellar.
Together with Stellar, Arf brings an opportunity for licensed money service businesses and international money transfer operators worldwide to free themselves from high-capital prefunding requirements and conveniently build cross-border payment corridors.
The Stellar Development Foundation brought together company leaders from last year’s Stellar Blockchain Bootcamp for a webinar in partnership with DFS Lab, which was hosted to support blockchain development of fintechs across the African continent.
Stellar Quest is growing up! What started as a gamified experiment is maturing into a full-fledged, educational experience. We’ve received loads of feedback since Stellar Quest’s launch in October 2020 and have consolidated our learnings to create a more engaging and inclusive experience. We want Stellar Quest to be an approachable place for beginner-to-advanced developers to not only explore the Stellar network but to learn about blockchain in general.
We intend to further refine our hiring strategies so that we can continue to nurture an organization where all of our employees are actively engaged and empowered to contribute to our mission of equitable access to the global financial system.
In celebration of Women’s History Month we highlighted women building the future of blockchain within the Stellar Development Foundation.
Break into Blockchain with the Women of SDF Pt. 1
Break into Blockchain with the Women of SDF Pt. 2
Break into Blockchain with the Women of SDF Pt. 3
Break into Blockchain with the Women of SDF Pt. 4
Open Protocol Discussion (3/3/2022)
In this open protocol discussion we talked through revisions to CAP-42, a proposal that would give validators control of which fee policy to use for individual transactions included in a ledger.
SDF’s senior software engineer, Jake Urban, and ecosystem engineer, Tyler van der Hoeven, chat about anchor integration with Stellar, interoperability, and the future of anchors on the network.
In this inaugural episode, he sat down with Leigh McCulloch, Principal Software Engineer, to share more about two important projects in development right now: Starlight, a layer 2 payment channel protocol, and Starbridge, a trust-minimized integration between Stellar and Ethereum.
In this second episode, Tomer chats with a founder, scientist, and doctor all-in-one. Dr. Torsten Stüber, CTO of SatoshiPay and Pendulum shared his thoughts and theories on sidechains, bridging, and beyond.
Tomer (SDF) on Blockhash podcast
Jed & Tomer (SDF) on Twitter Spaces
4/26/2022 - Stellar Development Foundation Quarter in Review: Q1 2022
4/26/2022 - Stellar Blockchain Bootcamp with DFS Lab
Reminder: Beware of “Hard Fork” Scams, Impersonators, and “Giveaway Scams”. We will never ask for your private keys, and we will never ask you to send us cryptocurrency. Learn more about how to protect yourself and your accounts in our Security guide.
DISCLAIMER: Stellar.org does not endorse any third party organizations that are named in this and/or any other communication(s). Please conduct due diligence and interact with these organizations at your discretion.
Safety Policy: The Stellar team will NEVER ask you for your private keys. We will NEVER ask you to deposit funds to any wallet address. Read our Security Guide for more information.
Subscribe to monthly roundup
Subscribe to the Stellar Newsletter
