What Shipped
Welcome to your February 2026 blockchain update! This week, several exciting developments have emerged from key players in the crypto space, especially focusing on Ripple, Stellar, Hedera Hashgraph, Flare Network, and XDC Network. These projects continue to push forward with new features, partnerships, and improvements designed to make blockchain technology more useful, accessible, and compliant with regulations.
Stellar, known for its fast and low-cost cross-border payments, has released a series of blog posts highlighting innovative use cases and technical upgrades. For example, IRL × Stellar: Bringing Culture Onchain, Invisibly explores how cultural elements can be recorded on the blockchain without overwhelming users with technical details. Another post, Verifying RISC Zero Execution In A Stellar Smart Contract, dives into how developers can verify complex computations securely within Stellar smart contracts, improving trust and transparency.
Hedera Hashgraph, a fast and secure distributed ledger technology distinct from traditional blockchains, has announced its collaboration with FedEx. FedEx joining the Hedera Council means the company will help guide the network’s development, especially to enhance digital global supply chains. This move signals growing corporate interest in blockchain-based logistics solutions. Hedera also shared updates on migrating from legacy queries to newer, more efficient methods, and discussed the adoption of the x402 payment standard, which promises smoother and more standardized payments.
Meanwhile, Ripple and Stellar continue to focus on compliance and privacy. Stellar’s post Open by Default, Private When Needed: Compliance-Friendly Privacy On Stellar explains how the network balances transparency with privacy, ensuring regulatory compliance without sacrificing user confidentiality.
In the broader blockchain ecosystem, Chainlink has published insightful articles on how blockchain technology improves cross-border payments and supports stablecoin issuers. These articles provide useful information for anyone interested in how decentralized oracle networks like Chainlink power real-world financial applications.
Why It Matters
These updates highlight several important trends shaping the blockchain industry today:
- Real-world adoption: Companies like FedEx joining blockchain councils show that large enterprises see real value in distributed ledger technology for improving efficiency and transparency.
- Improved compliance and privacy: Balancing regulatory needs with user privacy is crucial for blockchain to gain mainstream acceptance, especially in financial services.
- Technical innovation: New tools like RISC Zero verifiers and payment standards are making blockchain applications faster, more secure, and easier to integrate with existing systems.
- Culture and community: Projects like IRL × Stellar demonstrate how blockchain can capture and protect cultural experiences, broadening the scope beyond just finance.
For new investors and blockchain enthusiasts, these developments show that the industry is maturing. It’s moving from experimental projects to practical solutions that solve real problems in finance, supply chains, and beyond.
Builders’ Corner
If you’re a developer or curious about how these technologies work under the hood, here are some key points to explore:
- Stellar Smart Contracts: Unlike Ethereum’s complex contracts, Stellar uses simpler programmable transactions that are now enhanced by tools like RISC Zero verifiers. These enable developers to perform off-chain computations and verify them on-chain, reducing costs and increasing scalability.
- Hedera’s Consensus Service: Hedera uses a different approach called hashgraph, which promises faster transaction speeds and fairness in transaction ordering. Developers can build applications that require high throughput and low latency, such as supply chain tracking.
- Compliance Features: Many blockchains now incorporate features to help projects comply with regulations, such as privacy controls that keep sensitive data confidential while maintaining transparency for auditors.
- Cross-Border Payments: Ripple and Stellar offer payment solutions aimed at reducing costs and delays in international money transfers, which is a huge benefit for businesses and individuals worldwide.
For those interested, Stellar’s blog posts provide detailed guides and examples, making it easier to get started. Hedera’s developer portal also offers resources on migrating older queries and adopting new payment standards.
Quick Prices
As of February 15, 2026, here are some key cryptocurrency prices and their 24-hour changes:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $68,438, down about 2% in the last day
- Ethereum (ETH): $1,944, down nearly 7%
- Flare Networks (FLR): $0.0098, down about 1.3%
- Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR): $0.099, down 5.2%
- Ripple (XRP): $1.46, down 2.2%
- Stellar (XLM): $0.168, down 4%
- XDC Network (XDCE): $0.036, down 2.1%
While prices have seen some declines recently, this is normal in the crypto market, which tends to be volatile. The important thing is to focus on the long-term potential of these technologies and their real-world use cases.
What to Watch
Looking ahead, here are some key areas to keep an eye on:
- Enterprise blockchain adoption: More companies like FedEx joining networks such as Hedera could accelerate the use of blockchain in supply chains and logistics.
- Regulatory developments: Hong Kong and other governments are working on clearer crypto regulations, which could bring more stability and confidence to the market.
- Privacy and compliance tools: Projects balancing openness with privacy will likely gain traction as regulators demand more oversight without compromising user data.
- Cross-chain interoperability: Efforts to connect different blockchains and networks, including through oracles like Chainlink, will help create a more seamless decentralized ecosystem.
Stay curious and keep learning! Blockchain technology is still evolving, and understanding these trends will help you make informed decisions whether you’re investing, building, or just exploring.
TL;DR: This week’s blockchain news highlights progress in real-world adoption, compliance-friendly privacy, and technical innovation from projects like Stellar, Hedera, and Ripple. FedEx joining Hedera’s Council signals growing enterprise interest. Prices have dipped slightly, but the long-term outlook remains positive as blockchain continues to solve practical problems in payments, supply chains, and culture preservation.
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