Stellar Price (XLM)

Stellar is an open-source and decentralized peer-to-peer framework designed with the intent to transform the world's financial systems. It facilitates faster trade and financial transactions by connecting people, banks, and payment systems.

Stellar serves as a payment protocol built on distributed ledger (blockchain) technology, allowing for cross-border transactions between selected currency pairs. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of the Stellar network.

At the core of the Stellar payment network is its native digital currency called Stellar Lumens (XLM). XLM serves as the fuel for operations within the network. It acts as a bridge currency, enabling real-time conversion between different currencies. With Stellar, users can transfer funds quickly and at low transaction costs, bypassing the need for traditional intermediaries.

The Stellar network aims to make financial services more accessible and remittances affordable for everyone, regardless of their location or currency. This is particularly useful in underdeveloped or developing countries with immature financial infrastructure or reluctance to pay transaction fees.

It offers key features such as fast transaction times, low transaction fees, and cross-currency conversions. It strives to empower individuals and organizations by providing a secure and efficient infrastructure for cross-border transactions and the tokenization of various assets. 

Stellar has gained popularity since its launch in 2014, processing billions of global payments and forming partnerships with major payment providers and financial entities. The network utilizes the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) algorithm as its consensus protocol, allowing for faster transaction processing. It can handle as many as 1,000 network operations per second.

Stellar price history

2014-2017 

In 2014, Stellar had its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) with a fixed supply of 100 billion tokens. During the ICO, 1 XLM was priced at $0.002. 

In 2017, the price of XLM surged to $0.297835, making it the 12th largest cryptocurrency globally. This progress can be attributed to the successful integration of Stellar's technology into various industries, along with the launch of innovative products and services.

2018

In 2018, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant challenges, leading to widespread declines in value. Stellar's price, in particular, faced a notable drop during this period. 

At the same time, the Stellar Lumen token also hit its highest price paid of all time at 0.9381 in early January.

It started the year at $0.3540 on January 1 but closed at $0.11 on December 31, reflecting a decline of 70% throughout the year.

2019

In January 2019, the price of Stellar Lumens was $0.1129. By December 2020, however, it had declined to $0.0462. This indicates a significant decrease in value over the year, reflecting a decline of 60% throughout the year. 

This was the year when 55 billion XLM tokens were burned, and the total circulating supply changed to 50 billion.

2020

Stellar's value declined sharply in 2020 as the global economy was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The price of XLM coins hit a new low of $0.0334 per token in March of that year. 

In January 2020, the price of XLM was $0.0492, while in December 2020, it dropped to $0.03587. 

2021

In May 2021, Stellar reached its peak price of $0.73, reflecting a significant surge in value during the bullish market conditions. 

2022

In 2022, the price of XLM experienced a significant decline from $0.2917 in January to $0.07114 in December. It was a bear market not just for Stellar but for all cryptocurrencies, following the strong bull market in 2021, with the price of XLM experiencing a substantial decrease throughout the year.

2023

In 2023, Stellar started with a price of $0.07252. Throughout the year it experienced peaks of $0.0944 and $0.01121 before peaking at $0.1633 in July.

How does Stellar (XLM) work? 

Stellar operates as an open-source, decentralized network built on blockchain technology. Its core functionality lies in the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), which serves as the algorithm for verifying transactions. SCP enables the Stellar network to reach consensus without relying on a closed system, ensuring decentralization and preventing unauthorized adjustments to the ledger. Stellar's unique approach involves a network of independent nodes that collaboratively validate and process transactions.

Every five seconds, balances and operations are broadcasted to the network, and transactions are verified by the nodes running the Stellar Core software. SCP employs a Proof of Agreement (PoA) mechanism, which is a configurable and energy-efficient consensus approach. SCP's goal is to ensure low latency, decentralized control, asymptotic security, and flexible trust within the Stellar network. Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA), which is the underlying algorithm used by SCP. FBA leverages quorum slices and specific portions of network resources to validate transactions. 

In Stellar, a quorum slice is a subset of trusted nodes that a particular node selects to participate in the consensus process. Each node chooses its quorum slice, which consists of a set of other nodes that it considers reliable and trustworthy. These selected nodes form the node's trusted network.

Each node in the network selects a collection of credible nodes to approve transactions, adding them to the blockchain ledger. This consensus process enhances transaction speed and can handle approximately 1000 transactions per second.

Who founded Stellar?

The founders of Stellar are Jed McCaleb and Joyce Kim. McCaleb founded and served as the CTO of the company Ripple. Kim was a VC at Freestyle Capital. 

What is Stellar (XLM) used for?

Stellar aims to be more than just a token for cross-border payments with its native currency XLM (Stellar Lumens). It serves as a versatile platform for empowering Fintech platforms and exchanges to access global currency markets and enable compliant on-ramps and off-ramps.

The Stellar payment network eliminates the need for traditional intermediaries, making cross-border payments seamless and cost-effective. Moreover, it provides a platform for aid organizations to deliver instant and transparent digital aid at scale.

Additionally, Stellar enables the tokenization of fiat currencies, commodities, real estate, and digital assets, acting as a medium of exchange and providing liquidity.

What makes Stellar unique?

What sets Stellar apart from other cryptocurrencies is its focus on empowering users in impoverished and unbanked communities. Unlike many other cryptocurrencies that target large banks and financial institutions, it aims to provide financial services and payment solutions to those who lack access to mainstream banking services.

Through its decentralized network and efficient consensus protocol, Stellar provides a secure and scalable platform for financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. It also supports multiple currencies and asset types, enabling seamless exchange and transfer of various digital and other assets.

Can I mine or stake XLM?

XLM cannot be mined or staked in the traditional sense. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which rely on mining to release new coins and maintain their blockchain, XLM operates on a different system. It utilizes a consensus protocol called the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP). Therefore, traditional mining methods used in Proof of Work (PoW) cryptocurrencies do not apply to XLM.

Similarly, XLM cannot be staked in the same manner as some other cryptocurrencies that follow the Proof of Stake (PoS) model. Staking typically involves holding and locking up coins to support network operations and earn rewards. However, XLM operates on SCP rather than PoS, making staking in the traditional sense not applicable to XLM.

While you cannot mine or stake XLM for rewards, you can still participate in the XLM ecosystem by holding and using XLM for its intended purpose, facilitating fast and low-cost global transactions on the Stellar network.