About Stellar
SCP reaches agreement through quorum slices
Stellar Consensus Protocol uses a federated Byzantine agreement model. Nodes choose the quorum slices they trust, and overlapping slices form network agreement, making validator configuration and trust relationships part of the protocol security boundary.
XLM supports accounts, fees, and network minimum balances
XLM is the native asset of the Stellar network. It pays base fees, helps satisfy account minimum balances, and can act as a bridge asset in transfers. Stellar does not issue XLM through proof-of-work mining or traditional proof-of-stake, so those issuance intuitions do not apply.
Soroban brings smart contracts to Stellar
Protocol 20 went live after a validator vote in February 2024 and introduced the Soroban smart-contract runtime to Stellar. The runtime expands application possibilities while adding contract, resource-metering, and upgrade-compatibility boundaries.
Stellar trust configuration is part of the security boundary
SCP does not require every node to know the same validator set, but nodes need sufficiently overlapping trust slices. That flexibility makes node selection, quorum intersection, and upgrade coordination operational risks that operators must manage.