About
Stellar is an open-source, decentralized blockchain network designed to facilitate fast, low-cost cross-border payments and asset transfers between individuals, financial institutions, and payment systems. It was created to address inefficiencies in traditional financial infrastructure, particularly in international remittances, where transactions are often slow, expensive, and dependent on multiple intermediaries. Stellar enables users to move money globally in seconds with minimal fees, making it especially suitable for micropayments, remittances, and financial inclusion use cases.
The Stellar network was launched in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, a co-founder of Ripple, along with Joyce Kim. While Stellar and Ripple share some conceptual similarities, Stellar was designed with a stronger emphasis on open participation, decentralization, and serving underserved populations. The network supports the issuance, transfer, and exchange of both native and tokenized assets, including fiat-backed stablecoins, commodities, and digital representations of real-world assets. Anchors trusted entities on the network act as bridges between traditional financial systems and the Stellar blockchain.
At the core of Stellar is the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), a unique consensus mechanism based on the Federated Byzantine Agreement model. SCP allows the network to reach consensus without mining, enabling fast transaction finality, low energy consumption, and scalability. The native cryptocurrency, Lumens (XLM), plays a key role in the ecosystem by acting as a bridge asset for currency exchanges, paying transaction fees, and preventing network spam through minimum balance requirements.
Stellar has been adopted by numerous financial institutions, fintech companies, and nonprofit organizations. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a nonprofit organization, oversees protocol development and ecosystem growth. Over the years, Stellar has positioned itself as a practical blockchain for real-world financial applications, particularly in emerging markets, while maintaining strong decentralization and reliability within its global network.
