Stellar

Stellar is an open-source, decentralized blockchain network designed to facilitate fast, secure, and low-cost cross-border payments and asset transfers. It utilizes the native cryptocurrency Lumens (XLM) to enable multi-currency transactions and serve as a bridge between different currencies and assets. Stellar's distributed ledger technology allows for the creation and exchange of digitized representations of various currencies, tokenized assets, and financial instruments.

One of Stellar's core strengths lies in its ability to support the issuance and trading of different assets on its network. Users and organizations can create and issue their own tokens representing fiat currencies, commodities, securities, or other assets of value. These tokens can then be seamlessly traded on Stellar's built-in decentralized exchange (DEX), enabling efficient and cost-effective asset exchange without the need for intermediaries.

Stellar's consensus mechanism, known as the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), ensures rapid transaction settlement, with an average confirmation time of three to five seconds. This makes Stellar an attractive platform for applications requiring near-instant settlements, such as cross-border payments, remittances, and micropayments.

In addition to its core payment functionality, Stellar has expanded its offerings to cater to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Through its smart contract platform, Soroban, launched in 2023, developers can build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps) on the Stellar network, enabling a wide range of DeFi use cases, including decentralized lending, yield farming, and automated market makers (AMMs).

Key customers and partnerships

IBM: Stellar partnered with IBM to develop World Wire, a global payment system that facilitates real-time cross-border payments and enables financial institutions to issue stablecoins on the Stellar network.

MoneyGram: The leading money transfer company became a Stellar anchor, allowing cash-in and cash-out services in multiple countries, enhancing Stellar's remittance capabilities.

Mercado Bitcoin: Stellar collaborated with the largest digital asset exchange in Latin America to launch MBRL, a Brazilian real-backed stablecoin on the Stellar network.

Deloitte: The professional services firm integrated Stellar to build a cross-border payments application, Deloitte Digital Bank.

Stellar has also gained traction in the realm of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with several central banks exploring the use of Stellar's technology for CBDC issuance and management.