The history of Stellar Coin
The history of Stellar and its
native cryptocurrency, Stellar Lumens (XLM), is rooted in a mission to
connect financial systems and provide financial access to the world,
particularly the unbanked. Here is a summary of the key points and milestones: Founding and Early Years (2014 - 2015) Founders: Stellar was co-founded by Jed McCaleb
(who also co-founded Ripple and created the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange) and Joyce
Kim. Launch: The Stellar network officially launched in July 2014.
Motivation: McCaleb left Ripple due to ideological differences, aiming
to create a system that prioritized individuals and underserved communities
over large financial institutions. Initial Protocol: Stellar initially
forked from the Ripple protocol. Stellar Development Foundation (SDF):
The non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of the
Stellar network was established. New Protocol: In April 2015,
Stellar released a significant upgrade, introducing its own unique consensus
mechanism called the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), developed by
David Mazières. This new, open-source protocol was designed for faster, more
secure, and more decentralized consensus. The updated network went live in November
2015. Renaming: The native digital currency was initially called
"Stellar" but was renamed Lumens (XLM) in 2015 to distinguish
the currency from the network itself. Growth
and Major Partnerships (2017 - 2019)
IBM Partnership (2017): A major milestone was the partnership with IBM
to use the Stellar network for its Blockchain World Wire, a cross-border
payment system. This helped cement Stellar's reputation as a practical solution
for global finance. High Speed/Low Cost: The network gained traction for
its ability to process transactions in 2-5 seconds for fractions of a cent. Supply
Reduction (2019): The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) made a
significant move by burning 55 billion XLM (about half of the total
supply at the time). This action ended a previous 1% annual inflation mechanism
and aimed to make the remaining supply more focused on development and adoption
efforts. Continued Evolution (2020s -
Present) Focus on Interoperability:
Stellar continued to focus on integrating with traditional finance. Stablecoins:
The network expanded its utility by integrating popular stablecoins like USDC.
MoneyGram Partnership: The SDF's commercial arm announced a significant
partnership with MoneyGram International to use the Stellar blockchain
for money transfers, although the original deal later unraveled, the
integration continued. Smart Contracts (2024): The Stellar network
upgraded its protocol to introduce full smart contract functionality
(Protocol 20), kicking off a new era for decentralized applications (dApps) on
the platform. Core Function & Purpose The core purpose of Stellar remains: Cross-Border
Payments: Facilitating fast, low-cost, and reliable cross-border
transactions. Financial Inclusion: Connecting the world's financial
infrastructure to make economic participation accessible to everyone,
especially in developing regions. Asset Issuance: Allowing users to
issue and exchange any form of value (fiat, cryptocurrencies, etc.) on the
network
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