This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

In the summer of 2014, while the cryptocurrency world was still reeling from the collapse of Mt. Gox and grappling with Bitcoin's scalability limitations, Jed McCaleb was quietly developing a revolutionary new approach to blockchain technology that would prioritize financial inclusion over speculation, global accessibility over maximum decentralization, and practical utility over ideological purity. Having previously co-founded both Mt. Gox and Ripple, McCaleb brought a unique perspective to the challenges facing digital currencies, combining deep technical expertise with hard-won insights about the practical requirements for building financial infrastructure that could serve the billions of people worldwide who lacked access to traditional banking services.

McCaleb's journey to Stellar began with his recognition that existing cryptocurrency platforms, while technologically impressive, were failing to address the fundamental financial needs of the global population. Bitcoin's high energy consumption, slow transaction times, and volatile fees made it unsuitable for the small-value transactions that characterized most of the world's economic activity. Ethereum's complexity and gas fees created similar barriers, while traditional banking infrastructure remained inaccessible to billions of people due to geographic, economic, and regulatory constraints. McCaleb envisioned a platform that could provide the benefits of blockchain technology while remaining accessible to users regardless of their technical sophistication or economic status.

The philosophical foundation underlying Stellar reflected McCaleb's belief that financial technology should serve humanity rather than enriching early adopters or satisfying theoretical ideals about decentralization.