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OrbitStream

A developer-friendly payment gateway for Stellar — Stripe-like DX, Stellar-native rails.

The Problem

Stellar has the best payment infrastructure in crypto:

  • 5-second finality — near-instant settlement
  • $0.00001 transaction fees — cheapest of any major chain
  • $83M+ USDC supply with $4.2B total payment volume
  • MoneyGram Access — cash rails at 350K+ locations globally
  • Mature anchor network — fiat on/off ramps in 40+ countries
  • Built-in DEX — native multi-asset support (USDC, EURC, XLM)
  • Regulatory-friendly — compliance baked into SEP protocols

But there is no merchant-facing product layer.

A business that wants to accept USDC on Stellar today must build payment detection, confirmation logic, checkout UI, and settlement flows from scratch. The gap between "Stellar can move money" and "a merchant can accept Stellar payments in 10 minutes" is enormous.

Solana Pay has a merchant SDK but lacks Stellar's fiat infrastructure (SEPs, anchors, MoneyGram). No one has built a Stripe-like checkout layer on top of Stellar's existing rails.

The Solution

OrbitStream provides the missing merchant layer:

Capability Description
JS/React SDK <OrbitStreamCheckout amount={25} currency="USDC" /> — drop a payment widget on any page
Hosted checkout page Shareable payment link (like Stripe Payment Links)
Embeddable widget Modal/inline checkout that handles wallet connection + payment
Webhook notifications Confirmed payment events delivered to merchant's endpoint
Merchant dashboard Transaction history, settlements, payment status, analytics
Multi-asset support Accept USDC, EURC, or XLM; display in merchant's preferred fiat currency

How It Works

Customer                    OrbitStream              Merchant
--------                    ----------------              --------
   |                                |                          |
   |  Click "Pay"                   |                          |
   |------------------------------->|                          |
   |                                |                          |
   |  Checkout page/widget loads    |                          |
   |<-------------------------------|                          |
   |                                |                          |
   |  Select asset (USDC/XLM)       |                          |
   |  Connect wallet or scan QR     |                          |
   |------------------------------->|                          |
   |                                |                          |
   |  Sign payment transaction      |                          |
   |------------------------------->|                          |
   |                                |  Monitor ledger for      |
   |                                |  payment confirmation    |
   |                                |                          |
   |                                |  Webhook: payment.confirmed
   |                                |------------------------->|
   |                                |                          |
   |  Payment confirmed screen      |                          |
   |<-------------------------------|                          |

Technical Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    OrbitStream                          │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬────────────────┤
│  Frontend    │  Backend     │  Indexer     │  Dashboard     │
│              │              │              │                │
│  - React SDK │  - Payment   │  - Stellar   │  - Merchant    │
│  - Checkout  │    detection │    ledger    │    portal      │
│    page      │  - Webhook   │    watcher   │  - Analytics   │
│  - Widget    │    dispatch  │  - Event     │  - Settings    │
│  - QR codes  │  - Session   │    indexing  │  - Webhooks    │
│              │    mgmt      │  - Tx history│    config      │
├──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴────────────────┤
│                    Stellar Network                           │
│  - Stellar SDK (JS/Python)                                  │
│  - SEP-24 (fiat on/off ramps)                               │
│  - Stellar Asset Contract (Soroban)                         │
│  - Built-in DEX (multi-asset)                               │
│  - Anchor Network (fiat settlement)                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Stack:

  • Frontend: React/TypeScript SDK, embeddable widget (Web Components for framework-agnostic use)
  • Backend: Node.js or Go — payment session management, webhook dispatch, merchant API
  • Indexer: Stellar ledger watcher — monitors accounts for incoming payments, confirms finality
  • Dashboard: Next.js web app — merchant portal for transactions, settings, analytics
  • Smart Contracts (optional): Soroban contracts for escrow, dispute resolution, or subscription logic

MVP Scope

Phase 1 — Core Checkout (Weeks 1-4)

Deliverable Description
Payment session API Create checkout session → returns payment URL
Hosted checkout page Customer-facing page: shows amount, asset options, QR code, wallet connect
Stellar payment detection Backend monitors Stellar account for incoming payment matching session
Webhook dispatch payment.confirmed event sent to merchant's configured endpoint
JS SDK (v0.1) createCheckout({ amount, currency, onSuccess }) — basic integration
Testnet support Full flow on Stellar testnet

Phase 2 — Merchant Experience (Weeks 5-8)

Deliverable Description
Merchant dashboard Auth, transaction history, API key management
Payment links Generate shareable URLs (no code required)
Embeddable widget <script> tag + <orbitstream-checkout> custom element
Multi-asset support Accept USDC, EURC, XLM — auto-convert display currency
Mainnet launch Production deployment

Phase 3 — Advanced Features (Weeks 9-12)

Deliverable Description
Subscriptions Recurring billing on Soroban (time-locked payments)
Invoicing Generate and send invoices with payment links
Fiat settlement Merchant receives USD/EUR via SEP-24 anchor integration
WooCommerce plugin Install-and-configure for WooCommerce stores
SDK expansion Python, Go SDKs

Competitive Landscape

Feature OrbitStream Solana Pay Stripe (Fiat) NOWPayments
Settlement speed ~5 sec <1 sec 2-7 days Minutes-hours
Transaction fee $0.00001 $0.00025 2.9% + $0.30 0.5-1%
Fiat on/off ramps Native (SEPs, anchors, MoneyGram) Limited Built-in Limited
Hosted checkout Yes No (SDK only) Yes Yes
Embedded widget Yes No Yes Yes
Webhook system Yes No (polling) Yes Yes
Merchant dashboard Yes No Yes Yes
Multi-currency display Yes (via built-in DEX) SOL, USDC 135+ fiat Crypto only
Regulatory compliance Built into SEPs Minimal Full PCI/AML KYC optional
Physical cash rails MoneyGram (350K locations) No No No

OrbitStream's moat: It's the only solution that combines Stripe-like developer experience with Stellar's native fiat infrastructure. Generic crypto processors (NOWPayments, BitPay) don't use Stellar's SEPs or anchors. Solana Pay has better SDK but no fiat settlement story. Stripe is fiat-only.

Stellar-Specific Advantages

SEP Protocol Integration

SEP How OrbitStream Uses It
SEP-10 Authentication — merchants and customers prove Stellar account ownership
SEP-12 KYC data collection for fiat settlement (anchor compliance)
SEP-24 Hosted deposit/withdrawal — merchant fiat settlement via anchor iframe
SEP-31 Cross-border payments — enable international merchant settlement

Built-in DEX

Stellar has a native decentralized exchange. OrbitStream can:

  • Accept any Stellar asset and auto-convert to merchant's preferred currency
  • Show prices in local fiat using DEX order books
  • Route payments through the best available path

Muxed Accounts

Each checkout session can use a unique muxed account (sub-account of a single Stellar account), making it trivial to match incoming payments to specific orders without on-chain state.

Claimable Balances

For escrow-like flows (marketplace, freelance), OrbitStream can use Claimable Balances to hold funds with time-locked or conditional release — no smart contract required.

Grant Pitch

For Stellar Community Fund (SCF)

Stellar has the best payment rails in crypto — sub-5-second settlement, $0.00001 fees, $83M+ USDC supply, MoneyGram cash rails in 350K+ locations, and mature anchor networks in 40+ countries. But there is no merchant-facing product layer. A business that wants to accept USDC on Stellar today must build payment detection, confirmation logic, and checkout UI from scratch.

OrbitStream bridges this gap with a Stripe-like developer experience: a hosted checkout page, embeddable widget, JS SDK, and webhook system — so any merchant can start accepting Stellar payments in under 10 minutes.

Unlike generic crypto processors (NOWPayments, BitPay), OrbitStream is Stellar-native — it uses SEP protocols for fiat settlement, the built-in DEX for multi-asset support, and muxed accounts for payment matching. Unlike Solana Pay, it offers a complete merchant dashboard and leverages Stellar's mature fiat infrastructure.

This project fills a clear gap in the Stellar ecosystem: strong payment infrastructure with zero merchant tooling on top. It benefits every Stellar anchor, wallet, and USDC holder by expanding where Stellar payments are accepted.

Key Differentiators for Grant Reviewers

  1. No existing SCF competitor — streaming payments has Fluxity + two other funded projects. Merchant gateway is true white space.
  2. Composable with existing ecosystem — enhances every anchor, wallet, and SEP integration
  3. Clear user story — "A coffee shop in Buenos Aires accepts USDC via a QR code, settles in ARS via a Stellar anchor"
  4. Measurable impact — merchant count, transaction volume, developer integrations
  5. Sustainable model — transaction fee (0.5%) or SaaS tiers post-grant

Sustainability Plan

During Grant Period

  • Free tier: unlimited transactions, basic dashboard
  • Focus on adoption and ecosystem integration

Post-Grant Revenue Model

Tier Price Includes
Free $0/mo 100 transactions/mo, hosted checkout, basic webhooks
Pro $29/mo 10K transactions/mo, custom branding, advanced analytics, priority support
Enterprise Custom Unlimited transactions, SLA, custom integrations, fiat settlement

Transaction fee option: 0.5% per transaction on free tier (competitive with Stripe's 2.9%). Pro/Enterprise tiers waive the per-transaction fee.

Success Metrics

Metric Target (6 months post-launch)
Merchant signups 500+
Active merchants (monthly) 100+
Transaction volume $500K+ cumulative
Developer integrations 50+ (SDK installs)
Checkout page conversions >60% (pay after viewing checkout)

Risks & Mitigations

Risk Mitigation
Low merchant adoption Target crypto-native merchants first (NFT creators, Web3 SaaS, DAOs). Expand to traditional merchants via MoneyGram fiat settlement story.
Soroban ecosystem immaturity Core MVP uses Stellar classic transactions + SEPs. Soroban only for advanced features (subscriptions, escrow).
Anchor availability Start with USDC (Circle) as primary asset. Add fiat settlement as anchors become available per region.
Competition from Solana Pay Differentiate on fiat infrastructure (SEPs, MoneyGram, anchors). Solana Pay lacks this.
Regulatory uncertainty Leverage Stellar's compliance-friendly design. SEP-12 handles KYC. Partner with licensed anchors for fiat.

Open Questions

  • Should the MVP target crypto-native merchants (easier) or traditional merchants (bigger impact)?
  • Should the hosted checkout be self-hostable or SaaS-only?
  • Which anchors to partner with for fiat settlement MVP?
  • Should we build a Shopify plugin in parallel with WooCommerce?
  • What's the right fee model — transaction fee, SaaS tier, or hybrid?