The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has introduced Soroban, a smart contracts platform on the Stellar network, marking a significant milestone in the project’s decade-long journey.
Following a rigorous two-year testing phase, Soroban’s mainnet phase 2 has been launched, enabling the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) ready for user adoption.
Smart contracts are live!
Today, we're thrilled to announce a major milestone on the #Stellar Mainnet journey: the training wheels are off, and all restriction limits have been lifted!
Our only question is: What will you build?https://t.co/o9yzo3iC0O
— Soroban (@SorobanOfficial) March 19, 2024
Soroban presents developers with a fresh avenue to deploy smart contracts, thereby expanding the range of applications available on the Stellar blockchain. Leveraging WebAssembly (WASM), a binary code format tailored for seamless integration with both traditional web and blockchain environments, Soroban sets the stage for broader adoption and innovation.
With the integration of smart contracts, Stellar aims to diversify its utility beyond cryptocurrency payments, embracing decentralized finance (DeFi) and other financial services.
To foster adoption and development on the Soroban platform, SDF has allocated a $100 million Soroban adoption fund. This fund has already supported over 160 projects, focusing on harnessing Stellar’s smart contract capabilities for a variety of applications. Notable projects include bridge initiatives like Axelar and Allbridge, the Band Protocol oracle, and emerging DeFi platforms such as Sworoswap and Blend.
mode: activated 🔋 what will you build?https://t.co/C0iaarH5Vm
— Stellar (@StellarOrg) March 19, 2024
Founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb and Joyce Kim, Stellar is an open-source blockchain network designed to facilitate cross-border transactions. Initially resembling Ripple in its operation, Stellar underwent a transformation with the introduction of a revamped codebase featuring the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP).
While Stellar has previously accommodated smart contracts, the development of Soroban signifies a concerted effort by the core team to establish a versatile and developer-friendly platform for deploying high-performance WASM-based dApps.
