Stellar migration is technically feasible with no hard blockers. Of 17 product features assessed, 16 have a viable path — 8 production-ready, 5 buildable, 3 degraded. Ecosystem scale constraints require phased approach with explicit AUM caps. Yield is the central product risk.
| Phased AUM rollout | Start at $100M cap with Blend sub-cap of ~$15-20M. Scale to $250M only when TVL exceeds $400M. Blend-only yields ~0.67% at $100M — non-viable. Cap Blend at ~$15-20M, route remainder to USDY/BENJI for blended ~3.7-4.3% APY. |
| Yield architecture decision | Choose primary yield path: USDY (5.3%, MiFID II security), BENJI (3.5-4%, fund, MiFID II), AUSD B2B NIM (bridge-only, CLARITY Act risk), or USDVB (FDIC-insured, OCC approval pending ~March 4). Each changes compliance obligations. |
| Blend Protocol dominance (CRITICAL) | ~50-54% of Stellar DeFi TVL in one protocol. Feb 22, 2026: Oracle manipulation drained $10.2-10.8M from YieldBlox DAO Blend pool; core USDC lending pools unaffected. Mitigation: Cap Blend at ~$15-20M, use only core USDC lending pools. |
| Yield architecture complexity (HIGH) | DeFi-only: 3-4 sources, APY compresses to 1-4% at scale. Expanded landscape (USDY 5.3%, BENJI 3.5-4%, Centrifuge) offers 5-7 sources, but each carries distinct compliance obligations (MiFID II, CLARITY Act risks). |
| Asset clawback vs self-custodial messaging (MEDIUM) | Stellar USDC, USDY, BENJI all have AUTH_CLAWBACK_ENABLED — issuer can remove tokens from user accounts. Weakens "self-custodial" positioning. Requires legal/marketing alignment. |
Verdict Distribution:
Claimable Balances are first-class protocol primitive. No deployment, auditing, or TTL management. Gas-free claiming native. On Base requires custom Solidity escrow with audit costs.
DeFi capacity constraint: Only Blend is institutional-grade. APY collapses to ~0.67% at $100M supply. Viable only up to ~$15-25M on current borrow base.
Regulatory constraint: Post-GENIUS Act/MiCA, direct yield from payment stablecoin prohibited. Must use separate instrument: USDY (5.3%, MiFID II security), BENJI (3.5-4%, MiFID II), AUSD B2B NIM (CLARITY Act risk), or USDVB (FDIC-insured, pending OCC).
Wirex has production USDC/EURC dual settlement on Stellar (not on Base). MoneyGram's 200+ countries, 400K+ locations via SEP-24 is unique Stellar asset. SEP-6/10/24/31/38 more standardized than Base's fragmented landscape.
Stellar hosts native (non-bridged) USDC and EURC issuance. Combined supply: ~$200-225M. Native issuance eliminates bridge-exploit risk entirely.
Stellar DeFi TVL: ~$189M (vs Base ~$4.9-5B, 26x differential). Dominated by Blend at ~$96M (~50% of total TVL).
| Source | TVL | APY | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blend | ~$96M | 4-8% | ~$15-25M at 3%+ | Rate compresses as Ramp scales. Collapses to ~0.67% at $100M supply. |
| USDY (Ondo) | - | ~5.3% | Unlimited | MiFID II security. Investment Firm license for EU retail. No US persons (Reg S). |
| BENJI (Franklin) | ~$480-570M | ~3.5-4% | ~$480-570M | MiFID II Investment Firm for EU. AUTH_CLAWBACK_ENABLED. |
| Centrifuge | $20M SDF anchor | T-bill + CLO | $20M+ | Janus Henderson T-bill + CLO pools. Integrated with Blend/Defindex. |
At $27.95M borrow demand (current):
| Ramp USDC Added | Utilization | Supply APY (steady-state) |
|---|---|---|
| $0 (baseline) | 78.1% | 4.41% |
| +$10M | 61.1% | 3.00% |
| +$50M | 32.6% | 1.21% |
| +$100M | 20.6% | 0.67% |
Competitive crossover (< 3%) occurs at ~$15-25M Ramp supply. Blend-only yield story non-viable above this threshold.
Soroban uses state archival model: entries have configurable TTL and move off-ledger when expired. Late-2025 bug corrupted entries.
Mitigation: Implement automated TTL extension service. Use Claimable Balances (not Soroban) for Pay Links v1. Budget for restoration costs.
| Scenario | Assumptions | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| A: Hire 2 experienced Soroban engineers (RECOMMENDED) | 4-8 week recruitment + 16-20 week build | 20-26 weeks (5-6.5 months) |
| B: Train existing + hire 1 | 2-4 month Rust/Soroban ramp-up + 16-20 week build | 28-40 weeks (7-10 months) |
Stellar's viability validated by production deployments processing billions in real transactions:
| Application | Scale | What It Proves |
|---|---|---|
| Airtm x Bridge (Stripe) | $1.2B/yr, 2.5M users, 150+ countries | Enterprise payment rails at $1B+ scale |
| Decaf | 50K+ users, 130+ countries, 46% MoM growth | Consumer wallet rapid adoption |
| Felix + Bitso | $3B+ cumulative, 9M+ users | LatAm remittance corridors at scale |
| Wirex | 7M+ users, dual USDC/EURC Visa | Card infrastructure production-ready |
| MoneyGram | 200+ countries, 400K+ locations | Physical cash-to-crypto network |
| PayPal (PYUSD) | Global payment infrastructure | Mainstream payment company validation |