What Shipped
February 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting month in the blockchain space, with several important updates and innovations from some of the industry’s leading organizations. Here’s a quick rundown of notable developments:
- Stellar’s Meridian Pay: Stellar recently announced the launch of Meridian Pay, a new scalable smart wallet designed to make cryptocurrency payments easier and faster. This wallet is built on the Stellar blockchain, which is known for its speed and low transaction costs. You can read more about it on Stellar’s official blog.
- Hedera’s Swift SDK Update: Hedera Hashgraph, another popular blockchain platform, announced support for Swift 6 in its Hiero Swift Software Development Kit (SDK). This update makes it easier for developers to build applications on Hedera using Apple’s Swift programming language. More details are available on Hedera’s blog.
- Ripple and Cross-Border Payments: Ripple continues to expand its influence in the financial world by improving cross-border payments through blockchain technology. A recent article on Chainlink’s blog explains how blockchain helps make international money transfers faster and more affordable. Check it out here.
Why It Matters
These updates highlight the ongoing evolution of blockchain technology, especially in making digital money more accessible and practical for everyday use. Let’s break down why these developments are important:
- Smart Wallets like Meridian Pay: Wallets are how users interact with cryptocurrencies. A scalable smart wallet means more users can send, receive, and manage their digital assets quickly, without worrying about high fees or slow transactions. This could encourage more people to use crypto for daily purchases.
- Developer Tools and SDKs: When platforms like Hedera improve their SDKs, it makes it easier for developers to build new apps, games, and services that run on their blockchain. More developer-friendly tools mean more innovation and better user experiences down the road.
- Cross-Border Payments: Traditional international money transfers can be slow and expensive, often taking days and charging high fees. Blockchain technology, as used by Ripple, can bring these costs and times down dramatically. This advancement is especially important for businesses and individuals who need to send money globally.
Builders’ Corner
For those interested in building or learning more about blockchain projects, here are some concrete examples and resources from the recent updates:
- Meridian Pay on Stellar: Stellar’s platform supports smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements coded directly on the blockchain. Meridian Pay uses these to automate payments securely and quickly. If you’re a developer, exploring Stellar’s developer resources can help you understand how to create your own apps.
- Hedera’s Hiero SDK: The new Swift 6 support means iOS and Mac developers can build blockchain apps with modern tools and better performance. Hedera’s SDK documentation and tutorials are available on their developer portal.
- Stablecoins and Issuance on Brale: Stellar also shared insights on stablecoin issuance, which means creating digital currencies pegged to real-world money like the US dollar. Stablecoins are crucial for reducing the volatility often seen in cryptocurrencies, making them more useful for payments and savings.
Quick Prices
As of February 10, 2026, here are some key cryptocurrency prices and their 24-hour changes:
- Bitcoin (BTC): $69,114, down about 0.53%
- Ethereum (ETH): $2,016.20, down about 1.1%
- Ripple (XRP): $1.42, up about 1.58%
- Stellar (XLM): $0.1568, down about 1.06%
- Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR): $0.0908, up about 1.2%
- Flare Networks (FLR): $0.0096, up about 1.44%
- XDC Network (XDC): $0.0361, down about 0.22%
While Bitcoin and Ethereum saw slight declines, Ripple, Hedera, and Flare Networks showed positive growth, reflecting ongoing interest and development in these projects.
What to Watch
Looking ahead, here are some trends and events to keep an eye on:
- Institutional Adoption: New exchanges like LMAX are breaking down barriers between traditional finance and crypto markets, allowing institutions to trade any asset anytime. This could bring more liquidity and stability to the crypto space.
- Artificial Intelligence and Market Analysis: Experts emphasize that AI isn’t a cure-all during market downturns but can be a helpful tool for analyzing trends and making smarter investment decisions.
- Continued Innovation in Smart Contracts and NFTs: Stellar’s ongoing work with NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and smart contracts at events like Meridian 2025 shows that blockchain is expanding beyond just currency into digital art, gaming, and more.
- Cross-Border Payment Solutions: Ripple and Stellar’s improvements in making international payments faster and cheaper will be crucial for global commerce and remittances.
TL;DR: Stellar launched Meridian Pay, a fast and scalable smart wallet, while Hedera updated its developer tools to support Swift 6, making blockchain app development easier. Ripple and Stellar continue to improve cross-border payments, helping make international money transfers cheaper and quicker. Prices show mixed movement with promising growth in Ripple and Hedera. Watch for more institutional adoption, AI’s role in market insights, and ongoing blockchain innovation.
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