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Stellar (payment network)

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Stellar
Original author(s)
Developer(s)Stellar Development Foundation
Initial releaseJuly 31, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-07-31)
Repository
Written inC++, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby
Operating systemCross-platform
TypeBlockchain
LicenseApache License 2.0
Websitestellar.org
Lumen
Denominations
Plurallumens
Symbol*
CodeXLM
Precision10−7
Subunits
 1⁄10000000stroop
Development
White paperThe Stellar Consensus Protocol: A Federated Model for Internet-level Consensus[1]
Initial releaseJuly 31, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-07-31)
Development statusActive
Ledger
Supply limit50 billion
Website
Websitestellar.org

Stellar, or Stellar Lumens (XLM) is an open-source, decentralized cryptocurrency protocol for digital currency to fiat money low-cost transfers which allows cross-border transactions between any pair of currencies.[2] The Stellar protocol is supported by a Delaware nonprofit corporation, the Stellar Development Foundation, though this organization does not enjoy 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the IRS.[3][4]

History

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In 2014, Jed McCaleb, founder of Mt. Gox and co-founder of Ripple, launched the network system Stellar with former lawyer Joyce Kim. Before the official launch, McCaleb formed a website called "Secret Bitcoin Project" seeking alpha testers.[5] The nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation was created in collaboration with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and the project officially launched that July. Stellar received $3 million in seed funding from Stripe.[6][7] Stellar was released as a decentralized payment network and protocol with a native currency, stellar. At its launch, the network had 100 billion stellars. 25 percent of those would be given to other non-profits working toward financial inclusion.[8][9] Stripe received 2 percent or 2 billion of the initial stellar in return for its seed investment.[10] The cryptocurrency, originally known as stellar, was later called Lumens or XLM.[11] In August 2014, Mercado Bitcoin, the first Brazilian bitcoin exchange, announced it would be using the Stellar network.[12] By January 2015, Stellar had approximately 3 million registered user accounts on its platform and its market cap was almost $15 million.[13]

The Stellar Development Foundation released an upgraded protocol with a new consensus algorithm in April 2015 which went live in November 2015.[14] The new algorithm used SCP, a cryptocurrency protocol created by Stanford professor David Mazières.[15]

Lightyear.io, a for-profit entity of Stellar, was launched in May 2017 as the commercial arm of the company.[16] In September 2017, Stellar announced a benefits program, part of its Stellar Partnership Grant Program, which would award partners up to $2 million worth of Lumens for project development. In September 2018, Lightyear Corporation acquired Chain, Inc and the combined company was named Interstellar.[17]

In 2021, Franklin Templeton launched the first “tokenised” US mutual fund using Stellar.[18]

Usage

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In 2015, it was announced that Stellar was releasing an integration into Vumi, the open-sourced messaging platform of the Praekelt Foundation in South Africa.[19] Vumi uses cellphone talk time as currency using the Stellar protocol.[20] Stellar partnered with cloud-based banking software company Oradian in April 2015 to integrate Stellar into Oradian's banking platform to add microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nigeria.[21][22]

Deloitte announced its integration with Stellar in 2016 to build a cross-border payments application, Deloitte Digital Bank.[23] In December 2016, it was announced that Stellar's payment network had expanded to include Coins.ph, a mobile payments startup in the Philippines, ICICI Bank in India, African mobile payments firm Flutterwave, and French remittances company Tempo Money Transfer.[24]

In October 2017, Stellar partnered with IBM and KlickEx to facilitate cross-border transactions in the South Pacific region. The cross-border payment system developed by IBM includes partnerships with banks in the area.[25][26] The Lumens digital currency was ranked 13th in market capitalization at the time of the IBM partnership.[27]

In December 2017, TechCrunch announced Stellar's partnership with SureRemit, a Nigerian-based non-cash remittances platform.[28]

On January 6, 2021, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine announced cooperation and partnership with Stellar in development of Ukraine digital infrastructure, after which Stellar value increased by 40%.[29]

One of its most notable partnerships is with MoneyGram International, a global leader in money transfer services with over 400,000 locations worldwide.

The partnership between Stellar and MoneyGram was officially announced in October 2021. The collaboration aimed to integrate Stellar’s blockchain technology into MoneyGram’s existing payment infrastructure. This integration enables the use of Stellar’s native cryptocurrency, XLM, and the fiat-backed stablecoin USDC (USD Coin) by the company Circle. Circle is a regulated fintech and it’s USDC Cryptocurrency stable coin is a trusted, widely accepted and highly liquid digital dollar; for seamless cross-border payments and real-time settlements.

The partnership went live in June 2022, allowing MoneyGram customers in various countries to send and receive payments more efficiently. The service leverages the Stellar blockchain to offer near-instant transfers while minimizing fees compared to traditional remittance systems.

In 2024 crypto purchasing went live, where MoneyGram customers use a simple easy to use crypto wallet designed by stellar that is able to purchase and sell an array of cryptocurrencies including XLM, with the ability to directly transfer crypto to money and also an option directly credit a customers unaffiliated bank debit card.

Key Features of the Partnership

1. USDC Integration: Through Stellar, MoneyGram customers can convert cash to USDC at participating locations and send it globally. Recipients can then cash out the USDC to local fiat currency, creating a bridge between digital assets and traditional finance.

2. Financial Inclusion: The partnership focuses on serving underbanked and unbanked populations by reducing barriers to accessing financial services. The integration with Stellar’s blockchain eliminates the need for a traditional bank account to participate in the global financial ecosystem.

3. Real-Time Settlement: The use of Stellar’s decentralized ledger allows for nearly instantaneous settlement of transactions, improving efficiency for MoneyGram’s operations.

4. Low-Cost Transactions: Stellar’s design minimizes transaction fees, making it particularly attractive for remittances, where high fees have historically been a barrier.

Adoption and Expansion

The Stellar-MoneyGram integration has expanded to multiple markets, including regions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where cross-border payments are critical. By 2023, the partnership had gained traction among both individual users and institutions, reinforcing Stellar’s role as a leader in blockchain-powered financial services.

This collaboration has positioned Stellar and XLM as key players in bridging traditional finance with the growing world of blockchain, showcasing a real-world use case that aligns with the network’s mission to create equitable access to financial services worldwide.

Ecosystem

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Stellar has an active community ecosystem and supports projects that utilize the Stellar Network with the Stellar Community Fund.[30]

Overview

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Stellar is an open-source protocol for exchanging money or tokens using the Stellar Consensus Protocol.[1] The platform's source code is hosted on GitHub.

Servers run a software implementation of the protocol, and use the Internet to connect to and communicate with other Stellar servers. Each server stores a ledger of all the accounts in the network. 3 nodes are operated by the Stellar Development Foundation, in conjunction with 22 other organizations, providing for a total of 77 validator nodes.[31] Transactions among accounts occur not through mining but rather through a consensus process among accounts in a quorum slice.[32] The current network fee is 100 stroops, equivalent to 0.00001 XLM.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mazieres, David (25 February 2016). "The Stellar Consensus Protocol: A Federated Model for Internet-level Consensus" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. ^ Ben Dickson (January 30, 2018). "Can blockchain democratize education? This startup seems to think so". The Next Web. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  3. ^ "Stellar FAQ". Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ Jillian D’onfro (31 July 2014). "PayPal's Cofounder Is Supporting A New Non-Profit That Will Tackle The Vision PayPal 'Never Accomplished'". Business Insider. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Mt. Gox, Ripple Founder Unveils Stellar, a New Digital Currency Project". Wall Street Journal. 31 July 2014.
  6. ^ "New Bitcoin challenger launches". Fortune.
  7. ^ Michael del Castillo (5 August 2014). "Stripe takes on bitcoin with rival digital currency Stellar". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Payment processor Stripe helps launch a new currency, the Stellar". 31 July 2014.
  9. ^ "PayPal's Cofounder Is Supporting A New Non-Profit That Will Tackle The Vision PayPal 'Never Accomplished'". Business Insider.
  10. ^ "Stripe Backs Non-Profit Decentralized Payment Network Stellar, From Mt. Gox's Original Creator". 31 July 2014.
  11. ^ "2 Game-Changing New Cryptocurrencies With Serious Backing".
  12. ^ Metz, Cade. "New Digital Currency Aims to Unite Every Money System on Earth". Wired.
  13. ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com.
  14. ^ Cade Metz (8 April 2015). "An Algorithm to Make Online Currency as Trustworthy as Cash". WIRED. Condé Nast. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  15. ^ Tom Simonite (April 15, 2015). "A New Competitor for Bitcoin Aims to Be Faster and Safer".
  16. ^ Jeff John Roberts (May 11, 2017). "Stripe-Backed Stellar Places a New Bet on Blockchain in the Developing World". Fortune. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "Blockchain Startup Chain Merges With Stellar to Accelerate Use". Bloomberg.com. 10 September 2018.
  18. ^ Noonan, Laura (2021-12-10). "Blockchain-powered breakthrough on mutual fund". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  19. ^ Biz Carson (5 February 2015). "Stellar, South African nonprofit to bring digital savings to young girls". GigaOm. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  20. ^ Tom Simonite (20 February 2015). "Bitcoin-Inspired Digital Currency to Power Mobile Savings App". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  21. ^ Karen Webster (2 March 2015). "Stellar and Solving the Unexpected Tragedy of the Financial System". PYMENTS.com. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  22. ^ Paul Vigna (28 February 2015). "Stellar Takes a Step Into the Microfinance World". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  23. ^ Diana Asatryan (May 3, 2016). "Deloitte Taps Blockchain Startups to Build New Core Banking System". Bank Innovation. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  24. ^ FORTUNE. "Stripe-Backed Stellar Kicks Off Worldwide Money Transfers". Fortune. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  25. ^ "Stellar jumps 20% after Stripe says it may add support for the digital coin". CNBC. 24 January 2018.
  26. ^ "IBM and Stellar Launch Blockchain Banking Across Multiple Countries". Fortune.
  27. ^ IBM has a new blockchain for banks to speed up cross-border payments Ryan Browne, CNBC, 18 October 2017
  28. ^ Jake, Bright. "Africa's SureRemit joins the tokenized race to win the global remittance market". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. ^ "Мінцифра співпрацюватиме зі Stellar Development Foundation над розвитком ринку віртуальних активів". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Stellar Community Fund". communityfund.stellar.org.
  31. ^ "Stellarbeat.io - Stellar network visibility". stellarbeat.io. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  32. ^ Tom Simonite (15 April 2015). "A New Competitor for Bitcoin Aims to Be Faster and Safer". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  33. ^ contributors, Stellar org and. "Transaction Fees, Minimum Balances, and Surge Pricing | Stellar Developers". www.stellar.org. Retrieved 2020-05-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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