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

A Developer’s Deep Dive into Web3 Payments, Soroban Smart Contracts, and the Future of Blockchain Transactions

1️⃣ Introduction

Our articles at Executioners Esports provide detailed educational content about blockchain projects to inform our readers about various networks. The current focus is on Stellar which provides blockchain features for rapid payments at affordable rates with Web3 development tools. Stellar operates as a platform that powers international payments and decentralization applications while supporting asset tokenization operations.

Stellar presents Soroban as its robust smart contract platform for developers who aim to develop decentralized applications (dApps). This article presents the technology behind Stellar combined with its useful applications while describing developer steps to begin Stellar-based development.

2️⃣ Understanding Stellar: The Fast, Scalable Web3 Blockchain

What is Stellar?

Stellar is an open-source blockchain network designed to facilitate instant, low-cost global payments. It acts as a bridge between traditional financial systems and blockchain, allowing assets like fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins to be easily transferred across borders.

Why Stellar?

• Ultra-Low Fees — Transactions cost as little as $0.00001 XLM.

• Lightning-Fast Transactions — Settlements take 2–5 seconds.

  

• Multi-Currency Support — Users can issue and trade any asset on the network.

• Eco-Friendly Consensus — No mining required; uses an energy-efficient algorithm.

Stellar is one of the fastest blockchain with a TPS of 138tx/s
source

Real-World Example:

MoneyGram, one of the world’s largest money transfer companies, uses Stellar to enable crypto-to-cash transactions, allowing users to seamlessly move between digital and fiat currencies

3️⃣ The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP): How It Works

Definition:

Stellar uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), which is based on Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA). Unlike Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS), SCP does not require mining or staking to validate transactions.

How SCP Works:

• Instead of mining, trusted nodes (called quorum slices) validate transactions.

• Nodes reach consensus without central control, making Stellar decentralized yet efficient.

• SCP enables high-speed and low-cost transactions compared to PoW-based systems.

Example to Simplify SCP:

Imagine a group of friends deciding on where to eat. Instead of voting individually, they form small trusted groups, and each group reaches a decision. These decisions spread across the network, forming a consensus without requiring every single person to agree at once.

4️⃣ Soroban: Smart Contracts on Stellar

What is Soroban?

Soroban is Stellar’s smart contract platform designed to make Web3 development more efficient. Unlike Ethereum’s EVM, Soroban is lightweight, predictable, and cost-effective.

Why Soroban?

• Built with Rust — Secure and memory-efficient programming language.

• Low Fees — Transactions and contract execution remain affordable.

• Predictable Gas Model — Developers know the exact cost upfront.

• Seamless Integration — Works efficiently with Stellar’s native asset and payment features.

• Highly Scalable — Optimized for running thousands of smart contract executions without congestion.

Now build using Soroban on Okashi.

Developer-Friendly Tools and SDKs

Soroban provides ready-to-use SDKs for Rust, JavaScript, and Python, making it easier for developers from different backgrounds to start building smart contracts quickly.
Use Soroban’s SDK.

5️⃣ Getting Started: How Developers Can Build on Stellar

If you’re a Web3 developer, here’s how you can start building on Stellar using Soroban:

Step 1: Set Up Your Development Environment

• Install Soroban CLI.

• Set up a Rust-based smart contract project.

Step 2: Write & Deploy Your First Smart Contract

• Define a simple smart contract in Rust.

• Deploy it on Stellar’s testnet.

Step 3: Use Stellar SDKs & APIs

• Stellar offers SDKs in JavaScript, Python, and Rust.

• Developers can build wallets, DeFi platforms, and payment apps.

• Utilize Stellar’s horizon API for real-time blockchain interaction.

We’ll be publishing detailed guide explaining every step so make sure to subscribe us on our Substack to stay updated and learn WEB3 Dev.

6️⃣ Real-World Use Cases of Stellar in Web3

DeFi & Payments

Stellar enables borderless transactions, stablecoin support, and remittances with near-instant settlements.

NFTs & Tokenization

Developers can create NFTs and tokenize real-world assets, including stocks, bonds, and commodities, with Stellar’s built-in asset issuance features.

Web3 Gaming & Esports

The Executioners sees potential for Stellar in esports prize distributions, in-game token economies, and NFT-based gaming assets. Players and teams can receive instant payouts without relying on centralized intermediaries.

7️⃣ Why Developers Should Build on Stellar Today

No high gas fees like Ethereum. The zero-transaction fee model of Stellar creates better cost-effectiveness between developers and their end-users during business operations.

The consensus model within Stellar supports thousands of transactions per second hence it functions well with demanding applications which include DeFi and gaming.

Stellar has demonstrated credibility through its adoption by numerous financial institutions and fintech companies as they use its solution in real-world operations.

Stellar provides developers with a platform to build efficient remittance applications whereas Ethereum lacks payment optimization because it is not designed for payments.

Stellar enables native token issuance without requiring additional smart contracts because its built-in functionalities serve as the efficient token-issuance solution.

8️⃣ Next Steps for Developers

Stellar Developer Community (Telegram/Discord) offers members a chance to network with blockchain developers.

User can learn Stellar & Soroban through following GitHub instructional guides.

To obtain funding for innovative projects you can participate in Stellar hackathons as well as developer grants opportunities.

Open the Stellar ecosystem by participating in its open-source projects to develop practical solutions for its network.

Disclaimer

Executioners Esports is officially associated with Stellar Blockchain. Investment in Stellar’s token (XLM) is at the user’s discretion. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.

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