What Is Stellar? A Developer’s Guide to Web3 Payments & Soroban Smart Contracts

Stellar functions as a scalable Web3 blockchain, facilitating instant global payments with extremely low transaction fees and rapid settlement times of 2-5 seconds. It supports multi-currency transfers and provides developers with Soroban, a lightweight smart contract platform built on Rust, ensuring secure, efficient Web3 application development. Stellar’s ecosystem includes robust SDKs and APIs for building various applications such as wallets and DeFi platforms. Its consensus protocol enables decentralization without reliance on mining, contributing to its eco-friendly nature. Real-world uses include partnerships with major financial institutions like MoneyGram, integrating crypto and fiat transfers. Stellar highlights efficient payment features, unlike Ethereum, by offering built-in functionalities for asset issuance without additional contracts.