Stellar Development Foundation

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 2014 that builds and maintains the Stellar network, an open-source, decentralised public blockchain designed for fast, low-cost and energy-efficient transactions. The network supports the creation, transfer and exchange of digital representations of money, with applications in cross-border payments, remittances and the tokenisation of real-world assets. SDF is headquartered in San Francisco and operates globally.

SDF's technical work spans several domains: blockchain infrastructure, open-source decentralised networks, smart contracts, decentralised finance, asset tokenisation, payments technology and energy-efficient transaction protocols. In addition to the core network, the foundation develops Soroban, a native smart-contract platform on Stellar built for payments, asset tokenisation and DeFi applications.

As a mission-driven nonprofit, SDF states its purpose as creating equitable access to the global financial system. The Stellar ecosystem includes NGOs, corporations, governments and developers worldwide; the foundation supports participation through grants, funding programmes, developer resources and strategic partnerships. Work is carried out in the open, consistent with its commitment to maintaining an open-source blockchain.