Sude Özkan
Digital Marketing Manager
October 22, 2025
How Stellar Expanded in Turkey in 4 Steps with Rise In: From Launch to Everywhere
When Stellar decided to enter the Turkish market in 2025, they didn’t want to “just show up.”
They wanted to become part of the ecosystem, to leave a lasting footprint.
So we designed a four-phase plan, each stage building on the last, turning curiosity into knowledge, knowledge into products, and products into community pride.
Here’s how the journey unfolded.
Step 1 – Education: Planting the Seeds (March 2025)
We began on March 1, 2025 with a clear goal: raise awareness of Stellar and Soroban while giving people the skills to build immediately.
The Program:
- 1,600+ developers registered.
- 5 project-building workshops + 1 mini-hackathon.
- 229 selected participants engaged deeply.
- 200+ wallets created and 60 projects submitted to the Electric Capital Developer Report.
- 6 projects applied to Stellar’s Kickstart Program.
- Participants came from all walks of tech life, students, seasoned Web3 engineers, and startup founders.
- We also provide some AI workshops that mix fundamentals with future-facing topics like AI-assisted Stellar development, lowering the barrier for entry-level builders.
Why it mattered: By the end, Stellar wasn’t just a new name in Turkey. It was a skill set, a viable tech stack, and a community people wanted to join.
Step 2 – Hack Pera: From Learners to Real Builders (June 2025, IBW Week)
Armed with a trained pool of developers, we moved to high-intensity building during Istanbul Blockchain Week.
Hack Pera became the largest Web3 hackathon in Turkey that year:
- 500+ applications, 200+ developers selected.
- 72 projects submitted.
- $25,000 awarded to 10 standout teams.
- 40% of winners were alumni of our bootcamps.
- 25%+ women participation, with 50+ travel scholarships awarded.
- One project, Luminate, even launched on Stellar mainnet during the event.
The vibe: No “day-one setup.” Builders arrived already fluent in Stellar, thanks to Step 1. For 48 hours, Istanbul’s hackathon floor ran on caffeine, ambition, and lines of Soroban code. Stellar team mentored directly, helping ideas become working products.
Read the full story & results here.
Step 3 – The Sunset Everyone Wanted In
Two days of intense building later, it was time for something different: an event that would connect everyone, not just developers, but the entire Web3 ecosystem.
We called it the Stellar Sunset Party.
It would be a night of networking, music, and celebration… but also a statement: Stellar is here, and we’re part of this community.
The build-up was wild:
- Planned capacity: 350 guests.
- Applications received: nearly 1,000.
- Final capacity after stretching the venue limits: 490+ guests.
The demand was so high, we heard that even a black market emerged for the free tickets (!) people offering to pay just to get in. 🤯
The venue was Feriye, a historic landmark right on the Bosphorus. The sun set over the water as Istanbul’s skyline lit up, and the Stellar team made a cinematic entrance, arriving by yacht after a private Bosphorus tour.
Inside, VCs chatted with builders, founders pitched to investors, and old friends reconnected. Cultural touches in the décor and music made it unmistakably Istanbul, while the atmosphere buzzed with global energy.
It wasn’t just a party. It was one of the largest Web3 networking events in Turkey in 2025.
Step 4 – A Booth That Became a Meeting Point
The final step of the launch was a strong presence at Istanbul Blockchain Week itself.
At the Stellar booth, the team met with attendees from every corner of the globe.
Some conversations were purely technical, about APIs, integration, and development. Others were about partnership opportunities, local market insights, and future events.
The booth became more than an information desk. It became a meeting point for people who wanted to be part of Stellar’s growing story in Turkey.
Beyond the Agenda
Between events, the Stellar team explored Istanbul’s soul, visiting historic landmarks, enjoying local cuisine, experiencing the Bosphorus, and capturing countless memories with the community. This video can give you some idea of what happened 🤫
They also spent time at our Istanbul office’s Studio, where we recorded candid conversations about Turkey, Hack Pera, and the local builder community. These moments turned into some of our most heartwarming content, the kind that not only shares what happened, but also shows the genuine connection Stellar has built with the region.
Stellar didn’t just launch in Turkey. Stellar lived Turkey.
And that made all the difference.
The Outcome
In just four months:
- From zero to 1,646 learners.
- From learning to 130+ full stack projects (here is the winner projects’ interview videos)
- Two projects, The XBANK and StableJack, advanced past the pre-selection stage for the $150K SDF Build Grant Program.
- From a small idea to one of Turkey’s biggest Web3 networking nights.
- Along the way, the Stellar team didn’t just host events — they immersed themselves in Istanbul’s culture, from historic landmarks to Bosphorus sunsets, building genuine relationships grounded in an understanding of Turkish culture.
Stellar didn’t just enter Turkey. Stellar became part of it.
Why This Worked
The success wasn’t luck, it was the pipeline:
- Educate → Build the talent pool.
- Activate → Give them a reason to create.
- Connect → Bring the ecosystem together.
- Engage → Stay present, visible, and valuable.
By the time Stellar left Istanbul, the community wasn’t asking “Who is Stellar?” anymore.
They were asking “When’s the next one?”
What Stellar team says
Elliot Voris - DevRel @ Stellar
“Compared to other recent builder-focused hackathons, the builders I met at Hack Pera in Istanbul were more curious and engaged. They didn’t just want the code to work — they wanted to understand how the network, transactions, and ledgers all fit together. Rather than relying on AI to spit out a project, they were hands-on, invested, and able to build something they could truly explain and pitch.”
What’s Next
We’re just getting started.
📚 The Stellar Education Program is coming back.
✨ New large-scale events are already in the works.
🤝 More partnerships, more builders, more global connections.
Stay tuned.👀
If you’re curious about the past four months and want to get a better feel for the atmosphere, check out these highlights.
- Hack Pera Highlights
- Stellar Party Highligts
To hear what the Stellar & OpenZeppelin teams had to say about Turkey and Hack Pera, take a look at these videos: