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JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.Coindesk teamed up with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) to host a live webinar to discuss what to expect on the path to mainstream adoption and regulatory clarity.  A SDF blog announces that the fintech company Stably makes financial transactions cheaper, faster, and more transparent with USDC.The eight winners of the Stellar Community Seed Fund were announced this week.  The eight projects will share a pool of 5 million lumens (XLM).  Last, Cryptonews reports that 1xBit integrates Stellar into their online gabling platform.  The website provides its users with over 100 games, 5,000 slots, and multiple sports, e-sports, and betting opportunities.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, is interviewed by Sue Rocco from Women to Watch Media.  Dixon says, "As the Mom of five boys, some days I feel really old, and other days I feel young."  Dixon also posted a blog post that highlighted her two years with Stellar.  In the blog she says, "As I reflect on the last two years, I see a common thread of building resilience as we grow. And this resilience might be our most valuable quality moving forward. With each milestone and advancement, SDF and the Stellar network are expanding."Tala, a leading digital financial services provider in emerging markets, announced today a new partnership with Visa (NYSE:V) to help underbanked populations participate in the crypto economy. Together with additional partners Circle and the Stellar Development Foundation, Tala will explore opportunities to make it easier for underbanked consumers to convert, store, and use crypto currencies, beginning with USDC, the stablecoin governed by the Centre Consortium. Last, Denelle Dixon highlights the benefits of using Stellar in an article titled The Stellar Network: Powering an Open Network for Borderless Financial Infrastructure  on Gemini's Cryptopedia.  Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Daniel from Public Node interviews Steve Walker - the CEO and Co-Founder of Task.io.  After a quick introduction, Steve explains how Task leverages the Stellar.org blockchain technology to help further the missions of nonprofit organizations.  Steve explains how Task uses the open and inclusive Stellar blockchain network to provide token rewards and to bring greater transparency of nonprofit activities to donors.  Steve provides two examples of how smart contracts can be utilized in the nonprofit space - one example of how token issuance can be used to transparently track activities and the other an example of how it can be used to bring donors together to fund a particular goal.  The ultimate goal being to develop a model that makes it impossible for a donor to say no.  The discussion then moves deeper into smart contracts on Stellar, the development of Turing Signing Servers (TSS), and why Task ultimately selected Stellar over other blockchains.  Steve highlights the serendipity that Stellar has brought to Task, particularly in the areas of Stellar's first asset anchors.  Steve makes a quick mention of its Blackbaud partnership and how cryptocurrency in general can initially be a little frightening for well-established organizations. Lastly, Steve explains some of the other areas where Task can be used outside its primary nonprofit organization focus.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) provided updates on its response to Financial Action Task Force's  (FATF) draft guidance. The SDF announced the Stellar Community Seed Fund finalists.  Through a series of blogs, the SDF will showcase the finalists and their accomplishments, motivations, and future plans.  The first two showcase projects are Litemint, OptionBlox, and YieldBlox.BitGo - a company providing institutional digital asset custody, trading, and finance - announced that it now supports Stellar USDC.  "As the first custodian to support Stellar USDC, BitGo has opened the door for future partners and exchanges to offer USDC support as well, empowering more businesses to adopt and leverage this renowned stablecoin on an efficient and low cost network."Lastly, ETFstream reports that 21Shares expands its roster of crypto Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) to Cardano (ADA) and Stellar (XLM).Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) released its Q1 2021 review.  A few of the highlights include launching USDC on the Stellar network, Enterprise Fund investments in Wyre, Cowrie Integrated Systems, and DSTOQ.   Release of Horizon 2.0 was also a notable achievement.  The Stellar Core Protocol 16 upgrade was also implemented this week.  This upgrade fixed the issues that caused some of the Stellar validators as well as the SDF's Horizon endpoints to go offline.  On Thursday, Denelle Dixon, CEO of SDF, joined a Paris Fintech Forum to discuss how digital assets are going mainstream.  Lastly, Craig McGregor, CEO and Co-Founder of DSTOQ, discusses the case study on DSTOQ and how it uses tokenization and digital asset issuance on Stellar to make investing accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.This week started hard with news of issues on the Stellar network.  Several exchanges paused transfers on the network during the network event.   The network stayed up, but several Stellar service providers were impacted that use SDF Horizon endpoints to interact with the ledger.  See Decentralized to the Core and Bitfinex Pauses XLM Withdrawals.   Following this event, the SDF announced the schedule April 10th upgrade to Stellar Core version 16 aimed at resolving the outstanding issues of the event and get everyone back online.  Newsbtc reports on Uganda's approval to use the Stellar blockchain to power a futuristic city ("Akon City") and awarded American singer Akon one square mile to carry out the project.  The city is scheduled to be completed in 2036 and cost up to $6 billion.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.In news this week, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) provided an important update to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on “Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets”.  Specifically, FinCEN extended the initial comment period which allowed the SDF, and other blockchain advocates, to submit supplemental comments.  The SDF states, "No matter how you slice it, the FinCEN NPRM seeks to apply a regulatory framework designed for a centralized, intermediary-based financial system. That’s not suited for blockchain. We look forward to the role we can play to help future regulation represent new thinking that accounts for what makes this technology unique and how it can help regulators and innovators achieve their shared goals."SDF CEO Denelle Dixon makes an appearance on Coindesk to discuss the digital dollar projects on the Stellar network in Bermuda and Ukraine and why she’s excited about other crypto projects in Nigeria, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.Last, the SDF scheduled their Q1 2021 review for April 13th at 9:00 am PT.  Denelle and other SDF leaders will share the progress they've made in the start of 2021. They will cover growth metrics for the Stellar network and other strategic highlights and achievements from the Stellar Development Foundation over the first quarter.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.In news this week, a Nasdaq article reports that Stellar lumens need an institutional audience to become top altcoin.  The report states that the Stellar blockchain can reduce or eliminate the complexity of the Nostro-Vostro process - when one bank has another bank's money on deposit.  The article further points out that there are more than $500 billion is transferred cross-border in personal remittances.Crowdfund Insider released an article featuring Ada Vaughan from the Stellar Development Foundation.  The article explains how the Stellar network provides a modern alternative to moving money cross-border and, when paired with the USDC "stable coin," provides the perfect marriage of the world's leading digital US dollar with the world's most efficient network.  See also "The best of Both Worlds."Stellar will be hosting a "hack the system" technical workshop on Friday March 26th where developers will learn how to start building on Stellar. Last, the Global Blockchain Business Council hosted a members forum featuring Justin Rice and Lauren Thorbjornsen from the Stellar Development Foundation.  Justin and Lauren discuss how Stellar is a public blockchain built to further financial access and inclusion.  The presentation can be viewed here.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.In news this week, Bloomberg adds price data for 6 new crypto assets - including Stellar XLM.Mike Kennedy, former CEO and Co-Founder of Zelle, makes a guest appearance on the How Success Happens podcast where he talks about Inter/Stellar, a businesses using stellar to build the future of international payments.   He discusses his experience networking with Lightnet and others that use the Stellar Network.Litemint makes an interesting tweet that highlights the differences between the fees of issuing a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on Ethereum as compared to the Stellar network. Lastly, Denelle Dixon, CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation, is quoted in a Cointelegraph article about women, decentralization and the world’s economic drive.  Her quote begins, "First, I want to start by saying that women’s impact on the global economy shouldn’t be news to anyone."Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news.In news this week, The Stellar Development Foundation announced the release of Horizon 2.0.  This upgrade brings massive performance and architecture benefits that make running  Stellar infrastructure easier than ever.Next, Thailand's largest bank, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) announced that they have partnered with Lightnet, a fintech company that uses the Stellar blockchain, to open a new cross border remittance corridor from South Korea to Thailand.Ultra Stellar announced the launch of a new tool to help swap USDC to Ethereum to Stellar.Lastly, the Stellar Development Foundation blog highlights how Stellar USDC and FinClusive’s new stablecoin-focused banking partnership will enable businesses to access and leverage digital currency instantly while staying compliant.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news. In news this week, the Hack the System event started on the 25th of February 2021 and will last six weeks.  The Stellar Development Foundation announced there will be a Women Building in Blockchain event on March 8th where Denelle Dixon will moderate a discussion among several high-profile women in blockchain.  The discussion will focus on their experience and hot to unlock financial inclusion for a truly global audience. Finally, the Flare network announced that they will be integrating XLM as an F-Asset that will bring scalable smart contracts to XLM.https://stellar.org/events/hack-the-systemHack the System - Stellar Development Foundationhttps://stellar.org/events/women-building-in-blockchain-unique-perspectives-on-developing-products-and-businessesWomen Building in Blockchain: Unique Perspectives on Developing Products and Businesses - Stellar Development Foundationhttps://twitter.com/StellarOrg/status/1364999579821768705Stellar on Twitter: "Next week, SDF's @andreatlo and Karen Chang will join the #WOCBlockchain delegation of industry leaders virtually heading to DC to talk to policymakers and regulators about small business and the cryptoeconomy. Sign up here to tune in: https://t.co/gXQF1l8M7d" / Twitterhttps://twitter.com/FlareNetworks/status/1365052160531197954Flare on Twitter: "Flare will be integrating $XLM as an F-Asset, bringing XLM to scalable smart contracts and a trustless gateway to #Stellar. Decentralisation is far too important for maximalism. Ecosystems must be united. @stellarorg #UnlockingValue" / TwitterSupport the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news. News this week includes an upcoming  Stellar-based Hack the System event where programmers can earn XLM prizes to complete certain Stellar-related challenges.   Stellar Lumens (XLM) Hack the System from February 25, 2021 to 10 Weeks Forward. On February 16th 2021, iTrustCapital announced they now allow you to purchase Stellar lumens in a crypto IRA / 401k retirement account.  Stellar (XLM) is now available in your Crypto IRA / 401k Retirement Accounts.  On the same day, Trustee Wallet announced support for Stellar XLM in their multi cryptocurrency wallet.On February 15th 2021,  Akoin, a Stellar-based project started by Akon, the musician and entrepreneur, sent a tweet that reiterated its project is built on Stellar.  Akoin stated that this model is great as it ensures high speed and low cost when transferring Akoin tokens. On February 18th 2021, Grayscale reported that they have $29 million lumens under management.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

JoeShon "Joe" Monroe from A Stellar World Podcast brings Public Node's Weekly Wrap-Up of Stellar-related news. On Sunday Cointelegraph included Stellar Lumens in their top 5 currencies of the week. It also included BTC, DOT, LINK, and THETA.On Tuesday Yahoo Finance reported that “Lightnet Expands Payout Services Across Southeast Asia Through Collaboration With MoneyGram”.  It goes on to say that “Lightnet…launched a collaboration with MoneyGram International, a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers.”On Monday Denelle Dixon, the CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, provided a report on how businesses are already using USDC and what this means for use cases on Stellar via Stellar Org’s Twitter account.Grayscale Trust reported their Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for their Investment Products on February 8th.Grayscale reports they have $22.5 million dollars in Stellar Lumens under management. With a 12.53 percent increase over a 24 hour period.For more discussion on the current Stellar news of the week and price within the market please listen to A Stellar World Podcast on Anchor.fm and Spotify.Links:https://cointelegraph.com/news/top-5-cryptocurrencies-to-watch-this-week-btc-dot-link-xlm-thetaTop 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, DOT, LINK, XLM, THETA (cointelegraph.com)https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lightnet-expands-payout-services-across-030000996.htmlLightnet Expands Payout Services Across Southeast Asia Through Collaboration With MoneyGram (yahoo.com)https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjessel/2020/01/15/lightnet-targets-moving-50bn-annually-in-international-payments-on-the-stellar-blockchain-network/?sh=6347ce5c2e36Lightnet Targets Moving $50 Billion Of International Payments, Annually, On The Stellar Blockchain Network By 2022 (forbes.com)https://twitter.com/StellarOrg/status/1358908280119132161?s=20https://stellar.org/usdcUSDC (stellar.org)https://twitter.com/Grayscale/status/1358894200910188545?s=20Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Brian and Daniel discuss their observations of cryptocurrency market prices.  Specifically, that they tend to go up and down together more often than they do not.  They then provide some explanations for why that might be, but also point out that it's still a bit unusual given how different many blockchain projects are from each other - like gold and shoes.  Brian and Daniel then go on to explain how market prices reacted to the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) complaint against Ripple Labs., Inc, Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian Larsen.   Understandably, the market saw the SEC's complaint as negative for XRP, but at first the market also appeared to believe it was negative news for XLM too.  Both Brian and Daniel found this a curious market response and attempt to break it down a bit.  The discussion then leads to security law in the United States and what makes something a security.  They attempt to explain the Howey Test and the "family resemblance test" as laypeople and how they believe it may relate to Ripple, Stellar, and other digital assets.SEC Complaint against Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian Larsen.  SEC Digital Asset FrameworkDigital Asset Transactions:  When Howey Met Gary (Plastic)Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

FinClusive's mission is to bring secure, compliance-centered banking to the 2.5 to 3.5 billion people and businesses worldwide who are financially excluded or underserved.  FinClusive is using the open and inclusive Stellar network to deliver on this mission.Sam Conner and Amit Sharma (CEO of FinClusive) discuss Amit's background and how the United States' response to the September 11th attack ultimately resulted in excluding both good and bad people from the world's financial system.   Amit further explains how these new regulations disproportionally impacted low income and other groups of people and businesses as banks evaluated the cost of compliance and made the commercial choice to "derisk" - i.e., not do business with certain segments of the economy.Sam highlights Amit's statement that a quarter of the United States is either unbanked or underbanked - the plight of the unbanked or underbanked is not just a global poor phenomenon.Amit then explains how FinClusive provides compliance as a service to lower the cost of compliance and expand the number of entities able to provide compliant financial services to people and businesses.   The podcast ends on use cases and a future vision for which leaves Sam nearly speechless.  Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Clic.World is creating an end-to-end community centric financial based eco-system in Africa using the open and inclusive Stellar network.  Sam Conner and Andre van Zyl (co-founder of Clic.World) discuss Clic.World's six-year journey, from inception to big plans for 2021 - the year when Andre believes the handbrake will be released and everything is going to happen.  The discussion starts with a promise of sharing Uganda's Big Gorilla Coffee and a declaration from Andre that this coffee powers Clic and is not for amateurs. The discussion quickly moves to Africa and the need to bring technology that supports and makes more robust the African model of social banking rather than trying to force the monolithic banking model that works in other areas of the globe.  Andre explains his excitement when he first read the Bitcoin white paper and how he now believes Stellar built on that white paper and made possible a solution to the financial problems that Clic.World is working to solve.  The podcast ends with recent successes with African regulators and an exciting roadmap with partnerships that put Clic at the financial crossroad for modernizing social banking across all of Africa.Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Brian and Daniel discuss the two exciting new features that went live on Stellar with the release of Stellar Core Protocol 15.  The features are claimable balances and sponsored reserves.  Brian and Daniel explain how these two features combine with the fee-bump feature that was released with Protocol 13 to provide developers the trifecta of tools needed to put the blockchain technology completely behind the scenes for users.Brian and Daniel discuss how these new features can streamline the rewards token use case, including making it easier to track the amount of fish Brian buys at his local farmers' market.  The discussion leads to the purpose of the Stellar lumen and how it is a facilitator of a healthy and liquid Stellar network, but, as Protocol 15 emphasizes, the lumen never needed to be the star of the show. Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Cowrie Exchange is a Nigerian based fiat to crypto gateway that provides a way to trade cryptos with local fiat currency in the region.Sam Conner and Ladi Okorodudu, from the Cowrie Exchange, discuss what the Cowrie Exchange has done so far for Nigeria and how it plans to be the leading African payment network using Stellar.  The discussion begins with Ladi explaining the current state of Africa and the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians.  Ladi then highlights how the Cowrie Exchange integrates directly with the Nigerian banking system - allowing payment in NGNT, an asset backed digital token pegged to the Nigerian Naira, to cash payout of Naira at the local brick and mortar bank in 60 seconds.  Ladi shares his experience with the people at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), including a recent heartfelt outreach from the SDF's CEO Denelle Dixon.  Ladi then provides insight into the Cowrie Exchange's decision to use the Stellar network as compared to Ethereum.  The discussion then moves to the End SARS movement where Ladi provides his perspective into that movement and the youth in Nigeria.  The podcast ends with big plans for the future with the Cowrie Exchange's planned expansion from Nigeria to several other countries in Africa.   Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

Sam Conner and Tyler van der Hoeven from the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) discuss the current state of the Stellar Community Fund (SCF) and the robust launch of Stellar Quest.The interview begins with Tyler in his parents' basement picking apples and planting pumpkins.  It ends with Tyler's palpable excitement around Stellar Quest.   Tyler explains how he found Stellar and how he ultimately got hired by the SDF.  Sam and Tyler discuss the difference between the Seed Fund and the Lab Fund that are community funds available to help provide financial rewards to people building on Stellar. The discussion ends on Stellar Quest and how participation has far exceeded Tyler's expectations.  Tyler explains his vision for Stellar Quest to be the catalyst that onboards the next wave of Stellar developers.  Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)

COINQVEST provides cryptocurrency payment processing so that a business can accept and settle payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Stellar Lumens while also keeping accountants and tax authorities happy.  COINQVEST, in conjunction with the Stellar blockchain technology, also allows the business to receive national currencies like EUR, USD or NGN regardless of whether their customers choose to pay in Bitcoin, Ethereum or Stellar Lumens.Sam and Stefan (co-founder of COINQVEST) discuss the COINQVEST service and how it leverages the Stellar blockchain technology to provide digital cryptocurrency payment processing.  Stefan shares his appreciation for the funding received through the Stellar Community Fund (SCF) and how the SCF helps lengthen the runway for startups like COINQVEST.   He goes on to explain why COINQVEST chose the Stellar technology and provides a quick explanation of how Stellar's path-payment feature works.  The episode ends with an overview of how a shop owner can get started with COINQVEST to reach new customers and do so with plugins that work with the top e-commerce platforms - Wordpress, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento.  Support the show (https://publicnode.org/#membership)