The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has reached a noteworthy achievement by successfully implementing smart contracts on the network, heralding what they perceive as a pivotal moment in their technology advancement.
In a recent blog post, the SDF disclosed that validators on the Stellar (XLM) network had effectively implemented the “Protocol 20” upgrade, enabling the activation of smart contracts and initiating the phased rollout of their smart contract platform, Soroban.
The SDF expressed their excitement about this development, stating, “Stellar network validators voted to upgrade Mainnet to Protocol 20, kicking off a new era for the Stellar smart contracts tech stack, which delivers a secure, batteries-included developer experience built to scale and for real-world use.”
The introduction of smart contracts on Stellar aims to streamline the developer experience, particularly for those utilizing the Rust and WebAssembly (WASM) programming languages, thereby providing a more accessible environment for developers.
Soroban, the smart contract platform initially deployed to the Stellar testnet in October 2022, incorporates scalability features such as predictable fees and independent resource pricing. The SDF highlighted that this new smart contract ecosystem would empower the creation of decentralized applications (DApps), allowing developers to innovate and build applications on the Stellar network.
Although the deployment of smart contracts on the mainnet was delayed in January due to a bug found in Stellar Core, the SDF assured users that the bug posed minimal risk. However, they opted to address it before proceeding with the rollout to ensure the stability and security of applications built on the platform.
To incentivize developers to adopt the Soroban smart contract platform, the SDF initiated a $100 million funding initiative in October 2022. This funding aims to support developers in creating innovative applications on the Stellar network.
Despite these advancements, Stellar’s native token XLM did not experience a significant price surge. Over the past 24 hours, XLM has seen a slight decline, currently valued at $0.116. It has struggled to keep pace with the broader crypto market rally in 2024, remaining significantly below its all-time high of $0.875 reached in January 2018.
Founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, Stellar is one of the oldest and most established blockchain projects. McCaleb was previously involved in founding Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox and co-creating Ripple before launching Stellar.
