Stellar Now on NEAR Intents: Seamless Cross-Chain Magic for Developers and Users
Stellar Joins NEAR Intents: A Multichain Integration Breakthrough
Stellar ($XLM) has been integrated into NEAR Protocol’s Intents framework, enabling developers to bring users from 20+ chains into their Stellar apps with a single integration. Announced in late August 2025, this collaboration leverages NEAR Intents, a chain abstraction protocol, to simplify cross-chain interactions, allowing seamless swaps, transfers, and dApps across ecosystems like Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, and now Stellar. For crypto newcomers, Intents let users express desires (e.g., “Swap ETH for XLM”) without worrying about bridges or wallets; solvers compete to fulfill them efficiently. As Ada Vaughan from Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) highlighted in a live session, “NEAR Intents powers new DeFi use cases on Stellar, creating interoperability that’s as easy as it gets.” With NEAR’s 3.1 million daily active addresses and Stellar’s 10M+ accounts, this unlocks multichain DeFi for millions.
How It Works: One Integration, 20+ Chains
NEAR Intents acts as a universal transaction layer. Users state intents via apps or AI agents. Solvers, off-chain market makers, compete to execute, settling on NEAR’s verifier smart contract. Stellar’s addition means apps can now route liquidity from 20+ chains (including Sui, BNB Chain, and Polygon) to Stellar’s network. For developers, it’s plug-and-play: Integrate once with NEAR Intents, and your Stellar dApp gains cross-chain access. No custom bridges needed. Specifically, HOT Bridge serves as the primary connection, enabling automated pathfinding for swaps like $NEAR to $XLM. As James Bachini demonstrated in a tutorial, “Bridge & swap into assets like USDC and XLM from 100+ chains with one request.” Metrics? NEAR Intents processed $2.95B+ in swaps across 123 assets in its first year, with 121,000+ unique users in September 2025 alone.
The DeFi and RWA Boost: Liquidity and Opportunity Unleashed
This integration supercharges Stellar’s DeFi and RWA ecosystem. Developers can now pull liquidity from NEAR’s $11.5B TVL into Stellar’s $639M RWAs, like Franklin Templeton’s BENJI ($849M fund) or tokenized Treasuries ($505.8M). For instance, a Stellar app could let users swap Solana assets for XLM-backed yields, settling instantly via Intents. As Chronear from NEAR emphasized in the SDF session, “Stellar’s financial inclusion meets NEAR’s AI-DeFi edge, creating opportunities for millions.” Early adopters like THORWallet have expanded swaps to Stellar, boosting cross-chain volume. As a result, Stellar’s $4.2B quarterly payments could surge, with $XLM up 7% to $0.33 post-news. For users in remittances ($831B market), it’s game-changing: Send from Ethereum, receive on Stellar in minutes, no wrapping required.
Why It Matters: Interop as the “Little Thing” That Changes
Everything
Competition sharpens edges, but interoperability wins wars. Stellar-NEAR Intents cuts fragmentation, rivaling Cosmos with simpler execution. Developers save months on custom code; users get one-click multichain. As the ecosystem grows, NEAR at 9 shards, Stellar post-Protocol 23, opportunity explodes. For $XLM holders, it’s demand via RWAs; for builders, a canvas without borders. Platforms like Lumexo make $XLM swaps effortless with low fees. As Q4 2025 pilots launch, watch TVL hit $1B+. In short, interop isn’t a feature, it’s the unlock.