Stellar Moves One Step Closer to Smart Contract Support

Key highlights:

• Protocol 20 is bringing smart contracts to Stellar. They’re adding the ability to code complex financial agreements and applications that live right on the blockchain.
• Even better, it’ll be accessible for developers across different languages like Rust, Go, and JavaScript.
• Plus, it works with Stellar’s existing account model so integration should be straightforward.

The Stellar development team recently hit another milestone on their roadmap with the highly anticipated Protocol 20 upgrade. On December 18th, the Stellar testnet underwent a planned reset, allowing developers to start testing smart contract functionality on the updated network.

What does Protocol 20 bring to Stellar?

Protocol 20 will introduce support for smart contracts on the Stellar blockchain through a new feature called Soroban. As the Stellar Development Foundation explained in a previous blog post, Soroban will allow developers to create complex applications and financial agreements that live on the decentralized network.

Some key things Soroban will enable include:

Account-based smart contracts

Smart contracts will run on user accounts on the network, rather than taking the form of standalone contracts like on other blockchains. This should allow for easier integration into existing Stellar applications.

Multiple languages supported

Soroban will support smart contracts written in multiple languages at launch, including Rust, Go, and JavaScript/TypeScript. This lowers the barrier to entry for developers familiar with popular languages.

Familiar paradigm

Developing for Soroban will feel familiar to those experienced with languages like Solidity, as it uses a transaction-based model where functions are executed through transactions sent to contract accounts.

Stellar’s Testnet reset is complete!

This reset introduces new versions of Stellar Core and Horizon, enabling Soroban smart contracts. Please be sure to upgrade to the latest software — including SDKs.

Refer the the Upgrade Guide for more info ? https://t.co/4JSaUDIgWn

— Stellar (@StellarOrg) December 18, 2023

Testing begins on testnet

With the testnet reset on December 18th, as announced on Twitter, the development community now has the ability to start experimenting with and providing feedback on the new functionality before the mainnet upgrade. All infrastructure on the testnet will need to be updated to the pre-release versions of Stellar Core, Horizon, and the SDKs to work with Protocol 20.

It will be exciting to watch as developers start deploying increasingly complex smart contracts over the coming weeks, helping stress test the new capabilities and provide input to the Stellar org. The core team plans to carefully monitor activity and make any necessary adjustments before the software is finalized.

Mainnet upgrade estimated for early 2024

Currently, the target date for the Protocol 20 upgrade on the public Stellar network is January 30th, 2024 according to the official guide. However, as the article notes, this is an estimate and the date may change pending further audits and testing on testnet.

Once the upgrade does go through, it will represent one of the biggest steps yet for the Stellar project. Introducing smart contract functionality has the potential to greatly expand the use cases and scale of decentralized applications built on top of the network. It remains exciting to see how developers leverage these new tools.

Bright outlook for Stellar and XLM in 2023-2024

Given the anticipated Protocol 20 upgrade and progress of the project, price prediction sites like CoinCodex remain bullish on Stellar and its native XLM token through 2023 and 2024.

Looking further out, CoinCodex predicts 2024 could see XLM reach as high as $0.66, assuming development and adoption continue advancing at a good pace. Much will depend on how smoothly the mainnet upgrade goes and how quickly developers are able to launch compelling new use cases with smart contracts in the mix. But if Stellar can successfully integrate this important new layer, it seems 2024 could represent a new chapter of growth for the project.