With the launch of the Soroban smart contract platform on Stellar, developers are rushing to create decentralized apps (dapps) and platforms within the Stellar ecosystem.

Among the first to launch is the Phoenix DeFi Hub, which aims to be the “one-stop shop” for decentralized finance (DeFi) on Stellar, its creators told Decrypt.

“We're going to be launching a bunch of DeFi protocols that all synergize with each other and drive value,” said Phoenix Marketing Director Griffin Williams. First up is a decentralized exchange (DEX) launched in May, with an NFT marketplace soon to follow.

“We started with a DEX, since exchanging tokens is the basic functionality that DeFi was founded with,” said Phoenix Co-Founder and Smart Contract Lead Jakub Bogucki. Following the launch of the NFT marketplace, he added, “we want to add additional protocols which will expand both user experience and give users more options to strategically use their funds.”

“We’re really end-user focused,” said Phoenix Co-founder and Frontend Lead Milan Steiner, adding that, “Stellar is the perfect chain for that, because we have all these on- and off-ramp possibilities with Stellar Anchors.” The focus on stablecoins on the Stellar network also makes it “the perfect onboarding for new users,” he said. To that end, Phoenix has joined the Circle Alliance Program and plans to “further deeply integrate Circle assets like USDC moving forward,” said Williams.

Phoenix is also looking to attract seasoned DeFi degens with airdrops to the Polkadot and Solana ecosystems, Williams added.

Stellar may have “joined smart contracts pretty late in the race,” said Bogucki, but that means that “all the lessons have been learned.”

The Soroban smart contract platform uses the “excellent” Rust programming language, he explained, and offers “plenty of unique features” for developers. “Soroban puts a lot of emphasis on efficient use of storage on very low binary sizes, minimizing the transaction cost as much as possible,” he said. Efficient, “ultra-fast” cross-contract calls are coupled with a full SDK featuring “excellent documentation,” he added, “allowing you to easily deploy the contract, play with storage and perform tests.”

“Soroban is also great because we can actively help shape the tech stack,” Steiner added, with the platform responding “within weeks or months” to developer feedback.

With Phoenix gearing up for the roll-out of its NFT marketplace and more, including a “surprise protocol,” there’s plenty to keep their developers, the Soroban platform and Stellar busy. “Stellar seems like the most legitimate chain, from the business point of view,” said Bogucki. “They have very steady leadership, they have a concrete vision of what they want to achieve, and what kind of projects they want to host—and it shows.”