Simplifying blockchain: How better developer tools can foster financial inclusivity globally

Blockchain is becoming more accessible to developers, making it easier to create real-world financial solutions.

Blockchain technology, with its complexity, often pushes people away instead of drawing them in. The Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that supports the Stellar blockchain, is leading the way to making this technology user and developer-friendly with real-world solutions through its recent activities and announcements.

The hurdles on the path of blockchain adoption are steep. A significant knowledge gap exists among both business leaders and developers, as illustrated by a recent survey by Casper Labs. According to this survey, blockchain developers face a steep learning curve, with 25% citing this as a major challenge post-implementation. Close behind, 24% of developers pointed out a lack of viable tools as a hurdle, making it harder for them to fully utilize blockchain technology​. These challenges underscore the need for more intuitive and developer-friendly tools and resources to enable a smoother transition into blockchain development and implementation.

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a nonprofit foundation that supports the Stellar blockchain, with more than 7 million active user accounts and over 13 billion transactions recorded on its network to date, is working to make complex blockchain concepts more accessible and user-friendly.

Meridian 2023: A launchpad for innovations

Meridian 2023 is not just another conference in the blockchain industry’s busy calendar. It’s the Stellar Development Foundation’s annual event that offers a platform for visionaries, developers, and blockchain enthusiasts to converge, share insights, and unveil innovative solutions aimed at propelling blockchain adoption into mainstream channels.

In this year’s edition, which took place between the 26th and 28th of September in Madrid, the foundation made several important announcements that emphasized its commitment to simplifying blockchain technology and bringing it into everyday lives:

• Partnership with Zodia Custody: Zodia Custody, an institutional crypto custodian, will offer the Stellar Disbursement Platform (SDP) to organizations requiring a technical provider of the open-source bulk disbursement tool developed by the SDF. Zodia Custody will manage digital assets on behalf of organizations that wish to send bulk payments globally to groups of recipients for humanitarian aid delivery, payroll and payouts to workers, and social payments for government agencies. Hosting minimizes the technical and operational requirements for organizations sending cross-border payments over the Stellar network while expanding access to cross-border payments for organizations of all sizes.

• Integrations with Beans App and Boss Wallet: Stellar unveiled two new noncustodial wallets integrations to its Stellar Disbursement Platform — Beans App and Boss Wallet — enabling users to receive payouts from companies across the globe and cash out in multiple currencies, digital dollars, or via bank partnerships. Companies now have access to a simplified and streamlined method of making bulk payments with the assurance that recipients can access funds directly from their mobile phones. Wallet users can now access funds to pay bills, send funds to family and friends globally, and save for the future.

• Developer Engagement Tools: To foster a conducive environment for innovation, Stellar introduced a suite of tools to make building on the network more efficient and seamless. These tools include the Anchor Platform, which simplifies fund transfers between the Stellar network and traditional financial systems, and the Stellar Asset Sandbox, which provides a testnet environment for exploring asset tokenization on the Stellar network. This initiative is instrumental in reducing the complexities often associated with blockchain technology. These solutions are instrumental in reducing the complexities and time to market for companies interested in integrating blockchain technology.

• Stellar Wallet SDK: The Stellar Wallet Software Development Kit (SDK) is a toolkit designed to accelerate the process of building wallets on the Stellar network, making it faster for developers to create user-friendly wallet applications. Now, developers can make one integration of the SDK to become and remain interoperable with new and existing global on and off-ramps of the Stellar anchor network. By simplifying the wallet creation process, the Stellar Development Foundation is not only fostering a more developer-friendly ecosystem but also contributing to making blockchain technology more accessible and user-friendly for the average user.

Moving forward

The adoption of blockchain technology faces significant challenges, but growing interest and initiatives like those pioneered by the Stellar Development Foundation offer promising signs of progress. Stellar’s Meridian 2023 announcements underscore its commitment to actively building a more accessible blockchain-centric digital ecosystem, moving beyond mere vision.

Through various partnerships and developer-friendly tools, Stellar Development Foundation is making blockchain technology more accessible, easy to use and practical in our digital lives.