Stellar Development Foundation Announces Launch of Smart Contracts on Stellar with $100M Allocated to Soroban Adoption Fund

SDF has supported more than 160 projects with $15 million to date

• 'Soroban,' the smart contracts platform on Stellar, marks the network's biggest upgrade in its 10-year history
• Already a world leader in crypto payments, Stellar now supports decentralized finance (DeFi) and applications (dapps)
• The Stellar Development Foundation is deploying a $100M Soroban adoption fund

SAN FRANCISCO, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the nonprofit organization supporting the development and growth of the Stellar network, today announced that Soroban, the smart contracts platform on Stellar, is now live on the network's mainnet, enabling anyone to build, deploy, and interact with Stellar-based decentralized applications (dapps). To encourage development on Soroban, SDF has committed to investing $100 million into projects leveraging the network's smart contract capabilities in its pursuit to set a better standard where not only payments, but everyday financial services, are accessible to all. The fund has supported more than 160 projects to date.

Adding smart contract capability is the latest upgrade from the Stellar ecosystem's application of blockchain technology to create equitable access to the global financial system. Having powered over $1.3 billion in transactions during Q4 2023 alone, Stellar has established itself as a leader in crypto payments, with its technology underpinning the digital asset activity of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and MoneyGram International (MGI), among other entities. The introduction of smart contracts via Soroban will enable more sophisticated financial products and services to operate on the Stellar network, in addition to settlements.

Soroban's two-year testing period, which concluded January 2024, attracted 190 projects globally to its minimal viable ecosystem. During this time, SDF deployed approximately 15% of its $100 million Soroban adoption fund into supporting dapps spanning across lending and borrowing, insurance, auditing, and more. Projects building on Stellar include industry names Axelar, Allbridge, and Band Protocol and DeFi newcomers, Sworoswap, and Blend, to name a few.

"SDF aims to deliver the tools and technology necessary to power a next-generation financial system — one that is both decentralized and real-world ready," said Tomer Weller, VP of Product at The Stellar Development Foundation. "Soroban opens the doors for decentralized applications to easily plug into the existing global financial market, without compromising speed or scalability. We look forward to seeing a variety of world-changing dapps built on Stellar."

Engineered in response to crypto industry demand and a vision to provide everyday financial services to all, Soroban is a faster, less expensive, and secure alternative to existing smart contract platforms. The platform offers comparatively lower smart contract fees by simplifying transactions and utilizing lower levels of computing power to process them. Further, Soroban is a "batteries-included" platform — with built-in contracts and host functionality, the solution makes it easy for anyone to build and deploy a decentralized application.

Developers building on smart contracts on Stellar can apply for funding from SDF at communityfund.stellar.org/.

To learn more about Soroban, please visit stellar.org/soroban.

About Stellar
Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world's economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility. Founded in 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) supports the continued development and growth of the Stellar network and also serves the ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and solo entrepreneurs building on the Stellar network through tooling, funding and strategic collaborations. Together, Stellar is where blockchain meets the real world.

SOURCE The Stellar Development Foundation