Stellar Lumens was launched in 2014. Its founder is Jed McCaleb, who is also a co-founder of Ripple and a founder of Mt.Gox. Jed launched the Stellar Network System with Joyce Kim, a former lawyer. Stellar refers to the protocol, system, network, and the community as a whole. On the contrary, Lumens (XLM) is the native digital token of Stellar, empowering the Stellar network. Stellar is a decentralized network of servers, running independently on the blockchain. In other words, it is distributed among the interconnected nodes within the network, not supervised by a centralized resource.
XLM
- The vital aspect of XLM is to settle cross-border transactions for financial institutions, banks, and individuals. Stellar has partnered with IBM, and the partnership has enabled Lumens to gain adoption as a cross-border remittance in the blockchain.
- Although Stellar was created for handling the digital representations of various currencies, the developers had created their token called XLM. Further, Stellar users should hold a bit of XLM for participating in the network. This is essential for preventing the ledger from being filled with spam or unnecessary data.
- Like other cryptocurrencies, Stellar Lumens neither need nodes to mine transaction blocks nor network participants to receive rewards for validating the blockchain. But, this approach is in total contrast with Bitcoin. Moreover, 100 billion XLM were issued during the launch.
- Currently, there are over 20 billion XLM in the market and another 30 billion tokens that are retained by the company. These funds are used to expand the XLM ecosystem, for example, the development and marketing functions of Stellar.
Buying XLM Tokens
- Investing in Stellar is a very simple and easy process. The only aspect to ensure is the user’s perception. The user should understand that Lumens trades under both the STR and XLM tickers, depending on the platform. A few years ago, Stellar decided to change the symbol from STR to XLM, but exchanges have kept the original ticker, irrespective of the user’s choice.
- XLM trading volume comes from three important exchanges, namely Binance, Bittrex, and Poloniex. All the platforms support XLM to BTC trading pairs. If the user needs to convert USD to XLM, Bitcoin (BTC) should be purchased from the exchange followed by an XLM conversion. But, if the users intend to purchase XLM directly by using USD, they must visit the cryptocurrency exchange to make the purchase.
Some of the top exchanges that list lumens (XLM) are:
- Coinbase (US-based exchange)
- Kraken (US-based exchange)
- Binance (International exchange)
- Bittrex (US-based exchange)
- Bitfinex (International exchange)
- Upbit (Korean exchange)
- Coincheck (Japanese exchange)
- Huobi (International exchange)
- NovaDAX (Brazilian-based exchange)
- GMO Coin (Japanese exchange)
Storing XLM Tokens
- The users have limited options for storing XLM. If they frequently trade with Stellar, it might be convenient but less secure for storing the XLM. On the other hand, exchanges like Binance offer a higher level of security if the users are not trading.
- The safer approach is to store XLM using Stronghold. Stronghold is a distributed exchange used for the Stellar network. It offers a desktop client for supporting the storage needs of the client.
- When the users are not involved in day trading, they can always store the XLM in their mobile wallets like Jaxx. These wallets are easy to use and operate. The users can also download the wallet app and start using it within 10 minutes. They can also access the tokens whenever required.
- If the users plan to invest or use HODL (Hold on for Dear Life) option, they can consider hardware wallets. The hardware wallets help them to store the cryptocurrency in cold storage. This ensures the safety of tokens from online threats. For example, Ledger Nano X is a hardware wallet that supports XLM.
Predicting XLM Price
The Stellar price is $0.0385713 for a 24-hour trading volume of 801,643,49 USD. The current coinmarketcap ranking of Stellar is 13. It has a circulating supply of 22,609,025,847 XLM coins and a maximum supply of 50,001,806,812 XLM coins. Stellar’s closest competitors are TRX, ETH, and ADA. Find out what analysts have to say about XLM price prediction. Most people agree that Stellar has a great potential for growth and development. They predict the price will rise from $0.20 by the end of 2021 to $1.11 in the next three years.
Overall, for the year 2021, Stellar is a good investment opportunity. Although the platform still needs to develop, Stellar has already made strong partnerships, leading to a significant price increase. The native token, Lumens, acts as a bridge, helping cross-border transactions at a lower service cost as compared to the existing payment providers. It is gradually expected to change the world of cross-border transactions innovatively. Stellar is widening its horizons and is being adopted by banks, people, and financial establishments. Samsung has also recognized Stellar’s potential and has announced its collaboration with Stellar by introducing XLM in some Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
