What Shipped
The blockchain world continues to evolve with exciting updates from several notable projects. Stellar, a platform designed to facilitate fast and affordable cross-border payments, recently shared its End of Year 2025 Report – Execution at Scale, highlighting significant progress in scaling their network and ecosystem. They also introduced innovative ways to bring culture onto the blockchain through their IRL × Stellar initiative, which aims to seamlessly integrate real-world experiences with blockchain technology.
On the development side, Stellar released a detailed explanation about Verifying RISC Zero Execution in a Stellar Smart Contract, which enhances smart contract security by enabling verification of complex computations off-chain.
Meanwhile, Hedera Hashgraph, another enterprise-grade blockchain known for speed and security, announced a migration guide titled Migrating from AccountBalanceQuery: What You Need to Know. This helps developers transition smoothly to newer, more efficient querying methods.
In a major partnership, FedEx joined the Hedera Governing Council, signaling growing corporate trust in blockchain to improve global supply chains. Hedera also discussed its involvement with the x402 payment standard, aiming to streamline digital payments further.
Beyond these, Chainlink shared insights on how blockchain technology is improving cross-border payments and stablecoin issuance, providing practical use cases for decentralized finance (DeFi) and enhancing transparency in global transactions.
Why It Matters
These updates highlight a few key trends shaping blockchain adoption today:
- Scalability and usability: Stellar’s scaling efforts and Hedera’s migration guide improve network efficiency and developer experience, making blockchain more accessible for businesses and users.
- Real-world integration: Initiatives like IRL × Stellar show how blockchain can blend with everyday life, preserving cultural elements while leveraging the benefits of digital ownership and transparency.
- Enterprise adoption: FedEx’s move to join Hedera’s council is a strong vote of confidence from a major global company, indicating that blockchain solutions are ready to handle complex, real-world logistics challenges.
- Payment innovation: The x402 payment standard and Chainlink’s work on cross-border payments demonstrate how blockchain can make sending money internationally faster, cheaper, and more reliable.
For investors and newcomers, these developments suggest blockchain technology is moving beyond hype toward practical, impactful applications that solve real problems.
Builders’ Corner
If you’re interested in building or learning more about blockchain projects, here are a few concrete examples from recent news:
- Smart contract verification with RISC Zero: Stellar’s approach to verifying off-chain computations can help developers create more secure and efficient decentralized applications (dApps). This means your apps run faster while maintaining trust.
- Hedera’s migration from AccountBalanceQuery: For developers working on Hedera, updating your queries to the latest standards ensures your applications stay compatible and benefit from improved performance.
- Exploring cross-border payments: Chainlink’s work showcases how decentralized oracles (tools that connect blockchains with real-world data) can make international payments more transparent and less expensive. Developers can leverage these oracles to build innovative financial products.
Whether you’re a developer or an enthusiast, keeping up with these practical improvements helps you understand how blockchain technology is becoming more robust and user-friendly.
Quick Prices
As of February 17, 2026 (13:01 ET), here are some key cryptocurrency prices and their 24-hour changes:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $67,186 (-1.16%)
- Ethereum (ETH): $1,964.19 (-0.87%)
- Ripple (XRP): $1.46 (-1.36%)
- Stellar (XLM): $0.165 (-1.74%)
- Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR): $0.100 (+0.30%)
- Flare Network (FLR): $0.00965 (-1.19%)
- XDC Network (XDCE): $0.0369 (+0.68%)
While some prices show slight dips, this is normal market behavior. Overall, the technology and partnerships forming around these projects suggest promising long-term potential.
What to Watch
- Stellar’s ecosystem growth: Watch how Stellar’s new cultural projects and scaling efforts impact adoption, especially in cross-border payments and digital asset issuance.
- Hedera’s corporate partnerships: FedEx joining the Hedera Council could lead to more supply chain solutions on the blockchain, a sector ripe for innovation.
- Payment standards adoption: The x402 payment standard and Chainlink’s oracle integrations may become foundational for faster, cheaper global transactions.
- Developer tools and updates: Keep an eye on smart contract verification technologies like RISC Zero, as they improve security and efficiency for dApps.
For new investors, these areas represent exciting opportunities to learn and potentially benefit as blockchain technology continues to mature and find real-world uses.
TL;DR: Stellar and Hedera are making big strides in scaling, security, and real-world adoption, with major partners like FedEx joining the blockchain ecosystem. Innovations like smart contract verification and new payment standards are making blockchain more practical and reliable. While prices have seen small dips, the long-term outlook remains promising as these technologies improve cross-border payments, supply chains, and decentralized applications.
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