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Stellar has recorded the first smart contract uploaded on its mainnet hours after its Protocol 20 upgrade, overtaking the XRPL in the race to implement smart contract capabilities.
February 20 marked an important milestone for the Stellar ecosystem as it switched from being a payment protocol to one that can now host Decentralized Applications (DApps).
The journey toward the launch of Protocol 20, which ushered in the Soroban Smart Contract capabilities, is an extensive one that ended with the network’s validators ratifying the move on February 20.
New Era Begins for Stellar
The terrain has now changed for Stellar, as it can compete with existing blockchain networks for a share of the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) user base. Stellar was first designed as a protocol for payments, giving Ripple Labs major competition in cash settlements.
Though a smart contract has gone live on the mainnet, dApps may not emerge until much later. The upgrade ushered in Phase 0 in the Soroban rollout, marked by code stability testing. From here, Soroban contract transactions will be increased in Phase 1 and applications can start deploying at this stage.
First smart contract uploaded to Stellar Mainnet. That was fast 🏃♂️🏃♀️https://t.co/HpuGBKHxc6 pic.twitter.com/laNut2i4w6
— Stellar (@StellarOrg) February 20, 2024
The public will have access to these Stellar-backed applications in Phase 2 as Ledger capacity and stability are poised to be optimized.
The launch is considered a very important milestone, with community members excited about the upgrade, as it indicates that Stellar just outpaced XRP Ledger (XRPL) in the race toward releasing smart contracts.
Notably, the XRP Ledger has also been looking to introduce smart contracts capabilities through the launch of Hooks, a protocol introduced by XRPL Labs, the development team behind Xaman wallet.
However, concerns have emerged about the potential impact of the Hooks protocol, leading to delay in its implementation. Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz stressed that Hooks could pose a multi-billion dollar problem to users of the XRPL if it contains some flaws.
It bears mentioning that XRPL Labs has already implemented Hooks on its XRPL sidechain Xahau network. Schwartz claimed the launch of Xahau was a good way to test out the Hooks protocol before launching it on the XRPL mainnet.
Most recently, Richard Holland, CTO at XRPL Labs, noted that they would push for Hooks on the XRPL if up to 10,000 users indicate interest. Vet, an XRPL validator launched a pool, and over 94% of 11,503 votes showed interest.
In response, Holland acknowledged that the criteria had been met, calling on RippleX to send engineers and funding for the protocol. Holland disclosed on February 12 that they had opened a new PR for Hooks.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hooks PR is officially open.https://t.co/G8aCjtBUaF pic.twitter.com/rAhSMHYw7O
— RichardAH 🪝 (@RichardXRPL) February 12, 2024
Future Expectations
Notably, the recent development shows that Stellar has pushed ahead of the XRPL in this regard. With Soroban now live, XLM is expected to have more use cases in the Stellar-based decentralized finance ecosystem, compounding bullish pressure on the coin.
However, at the moment, XLM is not showcasing a bullish twist amid the Soroban rollout, as its price has dropped 3.3% in 24 hours to $0.115. The trading volume has, however, retained the bullish optimism with a 17% surge to $118,648,540.