Where We Are Headed

I’ve been at the Stellar Development Foundation for just over six weeks. Given “all of the time” I now have under my belt (a whole lot from the blockchain standpoint), I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts about where we are headed.

SDF’s mission is achievable. Global financial inclusion is worth all the hard work. We can’t do it alone, and a network by its very nature requires many participants to create the links and connections to get the job done. While achievable, it is a big, some would say huge, goal. And so to really make it happen we have to break it up into bite-sized chunks.

We will continue to focus on our technology. Decentralization is valuable: it creates stability, security, and trust. But it’s also hard, and it takes a lot of work. We are committed to that work. Lately, we’ve been encouraging validators to take on more responsibility, improving network performance and scalability, and rolling out better ecosystem tools and SDKs to make building on Stellar easier. We know we need to keep the protocol simple. We know we need to make the network as accessible as possible. We can do that by continuing to improve our technology one day — and one line of code — at a time.

We are building products that prove the value of the Stellar network. Right now, we’re working on a Stellar-built dollar savings and payments app, and lining up Latin American payout partners to connect it to real people in the real world. There’s an actual need for a product like this, and it’s a use case Stellar was built to solve. By showing the world how it works, we hope to inspire others to build bigger and better.

We will be opinionated and engaged on policy matters. Creating stability within our ecosystem is crucial. Ultimately, policymakers and regulators are focused on protecting their constituencies, and that’s a goal that we share. Our plan is to work with ecosystem partners to understand the problems they face, and with policymakers and regulators to help build a framework that provides necessary protections without stifling innovation and creativity.

We want the world to know about the Stellar network. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. We want you to know what we care about, what we are doing, and why we are doing it. We have already published our roadmap, but we are committed to making sure that we aren’t sitting in our own bubble. So we are going to talk more about our technology, our products, and all the other work we’re doing.

To help with that, we are hiring a head of Brand Marketing and a Head of Communications / Public Relations. We’re also hosting our first ever Stellar Conference on November 4-5, 2019 in Mexico City — Meridian — and we want to see all of you there.

We envision a world where value can be transferred anywhere, without the friction of borders. We’ve always said that money can move like email and it seems that there are others now that agree with us!** Collectively, we can all make this happen. I’m excited about what I’ve seen and what we can all do together.

**I can’t help but note that we have a new player in the space with a similar mission — Welcome Libra and Facebook! It’s exciting to see your vision and our collective alignment. We are eager for Libra’s participation in furthering the global conversation around blockchain technology. As you build out your journey, think of us as a partner in your mission.