Stellar (XLM) was founded on a powerful vision: to make value move like email—fast, low-cost, and universally accessible. While it carved its niche in cross-border remittances, the story in 2025 is vastly broader and more ambitious. The network has successfully assembled a powerful trifecta: native stablecoins (USDC) for dollar-denominated settlement, global cash on/off-ramps that bridge digital and physical economies, and the recent activation of Soroban smart contracts. This combination now powers everything from instant payments and tokenized funds to sophisticated programmable finance. This guide breaks down who is using Stellar today, the strategic why behind their choices, and what’s next as the network evolves into a complete financial rails platform.
What Is Stellar (XLM) and How It Works
Stellar is a decentralized, open-source blockchain network optimized for two primary functions: cross-border transfers and asset issuance. Unlike proof-of-work chains, Stellar uses a unique consensus protocol (the Stellar Consensus Protocol - SCP) that allows transactions to settle in 3-5 seconds with fees that are a fraction of a cent. This efficiency enables not just large transfers but also micro-transactions and frequent settlement cycles that are impractical on other networks.
The magic of Stellar lies in its "anchors." Anchors are regulated entities (like banks or financial service providers) that hold deposits and issue digital tokens representing those deposits on the Stellar network. For example, an anchor in the Philippines can issue PHP-backed tokens, which can be instantly swapped for EUR-backed tokens from a European anchor via the built-in decentralized exchange (DEX). This creates a seamless, global marketplace for currencies.
The pivotal evolution in 2024 was the mainnet launch of Soroban, Stellar's smart contract platform. Designed for scalability and predictability, Soroban allows developers to build complex applications—like decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and custom business logic—directly on Stellar. In 2025, the focus is on performance upgrades (like Protocol 23) to boost throughput and refine the developer experience. This expansion moves Stellar beyond basic transfers into the realm of programmable payouts, DeFi-style rails, and integrated enterprise workflows, all while maintaining its signature low costs.
Major Companies and Institutions Using Stellar (XLM)
Below are the most impactful organizations building on or integrating with Stellar. For each, you’ll see what they do on Stellar and why it matters for readers, SMBs, and enterprises.
MoneyGram: Global Cash On/Off-Ramps for USDC
What they do: MoneyGram integrates with Stellar to let users cash-in and cash-out USDC at hundreds of thousands of participating locations worldwide, even without a bank account (via supported wallets like LOBSTR or StellarX). This bridges digital dollars and physical cash for practical, everyday remittances.
Why it matters: On/off-ramps are the missing link for mainstream adoption. This partnership directly tackles the "last mile" problem in finance. Retail cash access plus stablecoins unlocks usable cross-border money for the underbanked and provides a clear path from digital assets to real-world spending, crucial for high-fee corridors.
Circle / USDC: Dollar Stablecoin Rails on Stellar
What they do: USDC is natively issued on Stellar, and Circle’s infrastructure supports moving regulated dollar tokens across wallets, apps, and payment flows. The Stellar version of USDC benefits from the network's inherent speed and low cost. In 2025, cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) upgrades continue to improve how USDC moves seamlessly between Stellar and other chains like Ethereum and Solana.
Why it matters: Dollar-denominated settlement with fast finality and low cost is the engine for real-world payments. It provides a stable unit of account for businesses, enabling use cases like payroll, supplier payouts, and consumer remittances without the volatility of native cryptocurrencies.
Franklin Templeton: Tokenized Money Market Fund (“Benji”)
What they do: As a pioneer, Franklin Templeton operates a tokenized U.S. Government Money Fund (the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund) whose share recordkeeping runs on public blockchains, with Stellar being a primary chain. Investors use the Benji Investments app to buy and sell shares of this regulated fund, leveraging on-chain efficiencies.
Why it matters: This is a marquee example of institutional tokenization. It demonstrates how blockchain can reduce back-office friction, enable near-instant settlement (T+0), and provide 24/7 transparency. It paves the way for tokenizing other assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate.
UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency): Aid Disbursements in USDC
What they do: UNHCR piloted a program delivering USDC aid on Stellar to displaced persons in Ukraine through supported wallets. This allowed for quick, transparent, and controllable disbursements, ensuring aid reached recipients directly and efficiently.
Why it matters: Humanitarian payouts are a high-stakes test of blockchain utility. Stellar proves its value in crisis situations where traditional banking infrastructure may be compromised, offering speed, transparency, and auditability when they matter most.
Flutterwave & TEMPO: Europe ↔ Africa Remittances
What they do: African fintech giant Flutterwave and payments company TEMPO use Stellar to power remittance corridors between Europe and Africa, often leveraging USDC on Stellar for efficient FX conversion and near-instant settlement.
Why it matters: Africa’s remittance landscape is large, fragmented, and traditionally expensive. Low-fee, fast-finality rails directly reduce cost and delay for individuals and SMEs, directly contributing to financial inclusion and economic growth.
Velo / Lightnet: Southeast Asia Settlement
What they do: Velo Labs and its partner, Lightnet Group, use Stellar as the settlement layer for remittances and credit networks across Southeast Asia. They connect money transfer operators (MTOs) and financial institutions to efficient blockchain infrastructure.
Why it matters: SEA corridors move enormous volumes; programmable settlement can compress costs and reconciliation cycles from days to seconds, creating significant operational savings for regional fintechs and banks.
IBM World Wire (Historical Enterprise Validation)
What they did: IBM’s World Wire used Stellar for cross-border payment proofs-of-concept with financial institutions. While the product has since evolved, it remains a critical piece of history.
Why it matters: This early enterprise exploration in 2017-2019 validated Stellar's potential for bank-to-bank settlement and paved the way for the mature focus on stablecoins, tokenized funds, and fiat on/off-ramps we see today. It provided crucial credibility in its early days.
Governments and CBDCs on Stellar
The public sector is actively exploring Stellar's rails. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has a long-standing partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF). A key pilot involved the e-hryvnia with TASCOMBANK and Bitt on Stellar. These pilots test programmable money for use cases like distributing emergency aid, paying public salaries, and processing vendor payments with enhanced transparency and reduced fraud. While most projects are still in the pilot phase, they highlight Stellar's suitability for public-sector innovation.
Stellar vs. Ripple (XRP): What Businesses Need to Know
Focus and Market Positioning
Ripple primarily targets banks, PSPs, and institutional settlement with a for-profit, enterprise-sales model. Stellar, governed by the non-profit Stellar Development Foundation, historically skews toward financial inclusion, retail remittances, and open-source community development. This fundamental difference shapes their technology partnerships and use cases.
Stablecoins and Ramps
Stellar’s combination of USDC + MoneyGram cash access is a unique retail-grade distribution model that shortens the distance between digital dollars and real-world use. Ripple has recently entered the stablecoin space with plans to issue its own, but Stellar's first-mover advantage with a major, regulated stablecoin like USDC is a significant edge.
Programmability
With Soroban live on mainnet, Stellar now supports smart-contract applications for programmable payouts, FX, and financial workflows—while retaining low fees and a payments-first design. Ripple's focus remains primarily on high-speed settlement rather than a broad smart contract platform, making Stellar a more versatile choice for developers building decentralized applications (dApps) on top of the payment layer.
Why Companies Choose Stellar
Low Fees and Fast Finality
Base fees are a fraction of a cent ($0.000001 XLM) and settlement is near-instant (3-5 seconds), enabling frequent or micro-value transactions without eroding margins. This is critical for business models like micropayments, pay-per-use APIs, and high-frequency settlement.
Regulated Dollar Rails (USDC)
USDC on Stellar provides familiar, dollar-denominated settlement for global flows, with APIs and compliance tooling that businesses can operationalize. It removes cryptocurrency volatility from the equation, making it palatable for corporate treasury and accounting.
Global Cash Access and Anchors
On/off-ramps like MoneyGram, plus a global network of regional anchors, create last-mile access critical for remittances, payroll, and agent networks. This infrastructure is hard to replicate and provides a immediate go-to-market advantage.
Institutional-Grade Tokenization
Production deployments like Franklin Templeton’s tokenized fund demonstrate cost and reconciliation advantages for on-chain recordkeeping. Stellar provides a public, yet permissioned, environment that can meet the regulatory requirements of large financial institutions.
Energy Efficiency
The Stellar Consensus Protocol is incredibly energy-efficient compared to proof-of-work blockchains. This is an increasingly important factor for companies and institutions with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) commitments.
2025 Highlights: What’s New This Year
Soroban Is Live and Evolving
Stellar activated smart contracts on mainnet in 2024. Throughout 2025, the focus is on ecosystem growth, with new dApps for lending, savings, and asset management launching on Soroban, unlocking richer programmable use cases.
Protocol 23 and Scaling Roadmap
In 2025, the network targeted upgrades like Protocol 23 to improve scalability, developer ergonomics, and throughput—part of an ongoing push toward higher TPS (transactions per second) without sacrificing the network's reliability and low cost.
USDC Interoperability Improvements
Enhancements to Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) and other ecosystem upgrades are making it even smoother for USDC to move between Stellar and other chains. This is crucial for liquidity and ensuring users are not siloed on one network.
Growing Anchor Network
The network of anchors—the bridges between traditional finance and the Stellar network—continues to expand in key regions across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, improving global liquidity and access.
Practical Use Cases to Feature in Your Own Case Studies
Remittances and Gig-Economy Payouts
Combine USDC on Stellar with local cash pickup (e.g., via MoneyGram) for low-fee, same-day payouts to international contractors or family members. This is far faster and cheaper than traditional international wire transfers.
Supplier Payments and Cross-Border AP
Tokenized dollars reduce FX friction and speed up reconciliation across multi-region vendors. A US company can send USDC to a supplier in Mexico, who can then convert it to pesos at a local anchor, all within minutes.
On-Chain Treasuries and Funds
Institutional tokenization can compress back-office costs and improve auditability while keeping regulatory guardrails. Money market funds, treasury bonds, and private equity are all potential candidates.
Programmable Aid and Grants
Following UNHCR's lead, organizations can disburse funds with specific conditions (e.g., only for food or rent) using smart contracts, ensuring donor intent and reducing administrative overhead.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Stellar (XLM) only for remittances?
No. While remittances are a core strength and a key entry point, the network's capabilities have expanded significantly. With smart contracts (Soroban) and robust asset tokenization, Stellar now supports programmable payouts, enterprise supply chain finance, regulated tokenized funds, and decentralized applications (dApps).
Do I need a bank account to use Stellar payments?
Not necessarily. In regions supported by on/off-ramp partners like MoneyGram, users can convert between USDC and cash at participating physical locations via compatible wallets. This makes Stellar accessible to the underbanked population.
How does Stellar keep transaction costs low?
The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is designed for efficiency. It doesn't require energy-intensive mining, allowing for fast consensus and minimal base fees (a fraction of a cent). This makes micro-transactions viable and reduces the cost of frequent settlements for businesses.
What is the role of the XLM token?
The XLM token (Lumen) serves two primary functions: it's used to pay for transaction fees on the network, acting as a spam-prevention mechanism, and it's required as a small reserve when creating new accounts or trustlines for assets.
Where Can You Buy or Invest in Stellar (XLM)?
If you’re interested in adding Stellar (XLM) to your portfolio, you can purchase it on major cryptocurrency exchanges. One of the most user-friendly and secure options is Coinbase, which allows you to buy, sell, and hold Stellar directly from your account.
Why Use Coinbase for XLM?
- Trusted Platform: Coinbase is one of the largest and most regulated crypto exchanges worldwide.
- Beginner-Friendly: Clean interface, mobile app, and step-by-step purchase process.
- Security: Advanced encryption, two-factor authentication, and insured digital assets.
- Flexibility: Buy Stellar (XLM) with bank transfer, debit card, or wire deposit.
👉 Start investing in Stellar (XLM) today by creating your Coinbase account here.
Conclusion: Why Stellar’s Adoption Matters in 2025
Stellar has successfully transitioned from a remittance-focused network to a full-stack platform for value transfer. The convergence of USDC rails, global retail cash access, tokenized funds, and a scalable smart contract platform creates a uniquely practical toolkit for businesses and developers. If you’re evaluating blockchains for payments, tokenization, or financial innovation, Stellar’s proven low fees, instant settlement, and growing institutional validation make it a top contender in 2025. Its evolution is a clear indicator of blockchain technology moving from promise to production.