In a significant move, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has revealed the integration of smart contracts onto the Stellar network, heralding what it calls a "new era" for its technology infrastructure. This development, announced on February 20, marks a pivotal moment for the Stellar ecosystem.
With the successful introduction of the "Protocol 20" upgrade, facilitated by the Stellar network validator, SDF commenced the phased rollout of its smart contract platform named Soroban. These smart contracts, tailored to enhance user experience, are crafted for developers proficient in Rust and WebAssembly languages.
Soroban, initially launched on the Stellar testnet in October 2022, harnesses scalability features like predictable fees and autonomous resource pricing, aiming to streamline operations and foster innovation within the network.
The implementation of smart contracts is poised to catalyze the creation of decentralized applications (DApps), empowering developers to forge pioneering protocols and applications on the Stellar platform.
While the smart contract mainnet upgrade faced a brief delay in January due to the discovery of a bug in Stellar Core, SDF ensured minimal risk before proceeding, emphasizing the importance of stability and security in the network's evolution.
To incentivize development on the Soroban platform, SDF initiated a $100 million financing program in October 2022, underscoring its commitment to fostering growth and collaboration within the Stellar community over the past two years.
Despite the momentous announcement, the native cryptocurrency of Stellar, XLM, experienced a minor dip of 1% in the 24 hours following the news. Currently trading at $0.116, XLM continues to trail behind the broader crypto market rally of 2024, remaining down 87% from its peak in January 2018.
