Stellar is a decentralized computer network operating with the use of blockchain technology. You can trade Stellar’s form of currency called Lumens (XLM) on the Stellar network. This cryptocurrency is required to finish transactions on the network.

What Is Stellar?

Stellar is a peer-to-peer digital currency, open-source network, which emerged in 2015. Current chief architect Jed McCaleb, current chief scientist David Mazières, and former lawyer Joyce Kim, who has left organization, founded the network. The idea behind it is to make it faster and easier for people to send different currencies around the globe. It can also give banking services and liquidity for those who can’t access traditional banking services.

Crypto Mining Farm
Source: Pixabay

Stellar’s cryptocurrency tokens are lumens or XLM. While Stellar and XLM coexist in one system, they’re technically two different things. Stellar is the blockchain network foundation, while lumens are traded on the network. Currently, there are 50 billion lumens in circulation, according to Stellar’s website. They won’t produce any more lumens, so you can’t mine them.

How Stellar Works

Let’s say someone wants to transfer $50,000 but doesn’t have access to a bank that can complete the transaction. This individual could alternatively transfer the equivalent of $50,000 in lumens. The receiver could then trade the lumens for $50,000, or an equivalent amount of another currency.

XLM History

In 2015, the Stellar network was launched under its founders, Joyce Kim, Jed McCaleb, and David Mazières. The Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit, was founded alongside the CEO and co-founder of Stripe, Patrick Collison, and a $3 million investment from Stripe. The platform obtained almost 3 million users by the end of its initial year.

XLM Price History
Source: Coindesk

Stellar burned around half of its outstanding lumens in 2019, which caused a price jump. This sparked some controversy since cryptocurrency manipulation is usually a risky move. However, the price shortly leveled out, and they announced that it wouldn’t produce any more lumens to stabilize its market.

Stellar Lumens are one of the best-performing cryptocurrency “altcoins” on the market now. XLM is convertible all over the world and stays a popular cryptocurrency representation of different currencies. It continues to be a decentralized blockchain system, as is the case for other cryptocurrencies.

How to Buy XLM

To use the Stellar platform, you need lumens. You can purchase them, but not Stellar itself. Fortunately, buying lumens is pretty simple at a variety of cryptocurrency trading brokerages and platforms. Kraken and CoinBase are among the most popular networks for buying lumens with U.S. dollars. Bittrex, Binance, Upbit, Bitfinex, Coincheck, GMO Coin, Huobi, and NovaDAX are also options.

LOBSTR wallet used in tandem with stellar
Source: lobstr.co

The native Stellar crypto wallet is LOBSTR, where you can purchase lumens directly in the network. XLM is distinct from many other cryptocurrencies in that it’s more of a utility to facilitate trades like Bitcoin than an asset in and of itself.

The use of a digital or hardware wallet when it comes to storing lumens is essential. While these are the safest and best ways to store your cryptocurrency, be cautious not to forget your passwords or access codes, as this could cause the permanent loss of your cryptocurrency.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *